Fortunate Visions Of A Metallic Country

London experimentalists Vision Fortune are adept at creating dark repetitive dystopias that are hypnotic, off-kilter and off-putting - yet inimitably danceable. Taking a queue from likeminded twisted wizards Liars, their approach to music is devilish yet playful - like a cat playing with a dying mouse. Yet we all enjoy watching brutal animal documentaries, right? David Attenborough is a global treasure based on our morbid fascination with the dog-eat-dog world. So it goes with Vision Fortune's second album Country Music (their first on ATP Recordings - out in February 10), which they will be touring around Europe in March (I'll be in Australia when they play the Ace Hotel in London, unfortunately). 'Dry Mouth' has been out for a couple months, but it's good to delve into its metallic allure, a carapace of vice and disarray, once more.


And now there is this second taste, 'Back Crawl II', a seemingly more insular, percolating track that devolves into a chaotic mess of metal and mire. Excellent.

High and Mightily Furious

I spoke about High And Mighty, Melbourne's resident genius weirdo Orlando Furious' new tape (out through Cinnamon Records), briefly when vibing out on his 'Fresh' video. But I really think High and Mighty needs more recognition.

I'll start with 'Dogs' the last song on side A. Why? Because I can't figure out if Orlando is doing some weird British Caribbean quasi accent. Because when he says 'Who gave me constables?' it sounds like he is saying cunts. Because when he says 'Who gave me dogs from the east?' he immediately ratifies the statement by saying 'Obviously I'm not being serious but, like, who told me about the dogs from the east?' Will the brain be expected to fail? The songs winds down with warped voices echoing over Orlando, the oxygen being weaned, stolen, suppressed, expunged. The static beats maintaining a narcotic pulse until it becomes erratic, then stops. It's kinda dumb, but also kinda genius. And that is High and Mighty, and indeed Orlando Furious, to a tee. The aberrant yet charismatic vocal rants are at once absurdist, nonsensical and rapturous. His is an addictive presence. The slightly sinister beats/rhythms (which are great all the way through High and Mighty, by the way) of 'Assets' propels the forever-on-the-verge-of-a-breakdown vocal stressings of Orlando to a plateau where he overlooks us all - as he is no coward, no drifter - he is 'the master'. Hot tamales, anyone?

Even when 'Peace' is nothing but a coalescing disturbance, a tape-loop explosion, it falls into a VHS vortex of Korine-like despair and gurning grotesqueries. And hearing 'Fresh' as the closing statement rather than on its own, it underscores my initial correlation with Liars - but I feel like this is more truly 'experimental', pushing aural, lyrical and physical barriers rather than setting the quirk flag in weird yet nonetheless familiar territory (and I love Liars). This stuff will always be an acquired taste for many - but Orlando, give me your 'Porkrawl' any day of the fucked-up week.

Dissolve yourself in High and Mighty here. Orlando Furious' next hit is supporting Old Mate launch their excellent LP It Is What It Is this Saturday at The Tote in Melbourne (also with Cool Sounds) - get there early if you know what's good for you.

Messed Up Liars

It seems like Sonic Masala was invented for Liars releases. Sisterworld came out the year I started this, and that album blew my mind; their single 'No 1 Against The Rush' (from WIXIW) is one of my favourite stand alone songs ever; I got to have a long and engaging chat with Angus Andrew at the beginning of last year... The trio are masters of subversion and confrontational art whilst never taking themselves seriously (although I know that seems hard to believe at times...but check out their "viral" imagery for this new album on their Facebook page) New album Mess is on the way, and here is a new track from it, a sort-of title track. Mess appears to be more electronic than WIXIW too, so that might piss some people off, but I like the insidious nature of their music, the dark terrains they create, and am willing to follow these sonic explorers to the brink of the abyss and beyond - are you?

You can pre-order Mess here.

Stalking An Androgynous Mind Throughout the Night

Avid readers of Sonic Masala (I think there are four of you?) might remember that we started out as a duo, myself and the enigmatic Paul M. We were (and still are) mates that revelled in scouring for and discovering new music, basking in the glories of old classics, emerging from the fiery waters of noise newly cleansed. That first year, 2010, was an exciting one. Albums like Liars' Sisterworld, Emeralds' Does It Look Like I'm Here? and Rangda's False Flag fuelled furious, likeminded debate, amorous adoration, and weekly excuses to go to shows and get wasted.

One band we both fixated on was Canadian killers Women. I still get a catch in my throat when I listen to 'Eyesore' off their second album (and our favourite of the year) Public Strain. Unfortunately I never got to see them play live before they went on hiatus, and even sadder was the news that guitarist Christopher Reimer passed away in 2012 due to complications from a heart condition. So it’s with great pleasure (and more than a little soft lense nostalgia) that I have welcomed Androgynous Mind, the new project for Women frontman Patrick Flegel (joined by Morgan Cook).

Nightstalker (out on the rad Faux Discx label) has had some pared back comparisons to Harry Pussy - wow indeed. The first two tracks are certainly indicative of such maniacal nihilism. But 'Knock On My Door' is something else, a languid, dead-eyed pop confectionery, a replicated artefact from Manson's Laurel Canyon, all sworling sepia, brown-tainted shadows, echoing eloquence and that iconic Flegel sharp jangle, a knife's-edge piercing of the dark. Fucking exciting.

You can buy Nightstalker here.

Hits From The Box #69 - Drinking The Day's Pain Away

Wow, what is going on with this week? It just seems to be...dragging...on...so...loooooooooooonga! I've called one colleague a dick (as in "Come on, you aren't a dick, are you?" when replying to what turned out to be an earnest plea for assistance) and accidentally given a 14 year old a bleeding lip (seriously, if you are going to ask me to play basketball, expect to be playing with the big boys...) At least I have the second Sonic Masala solo show on tomorrow to look forward to. That, and this bunch of inbox hits. Still, some booze might help speed things up - or wash things away - either would be nice...

I received Swim, the 7" EP by Minneapolis' Diver Dress a month ago, yet have been majorly slack about throwing it on. My mistake, for the five tracks here are capsules of garage cyanide, angular anarchy, popsicle pop and sand in between the toes of the Flying Nuns. Special merit goes to the steely foundations at the core of 'Untitled 1', breaking into a blues-doom disintegration by song's end.  The four-piece have already graced stages alongside The Intelligence and K-Holes - expect these rock contusions to grow and fester.

Over to Canada, Toronto to be accurate, to be beguiled by Petra Glynt. This avant-garde popstress has something pretty special going on here. Her EP is equal parts hammering, beguiling and frustrating, with Glynt frequently hiding her clearly strong vocals underneath distorted tribal manipulations, unforgiving clatter and noise. Its the kind of basement DIY electronic strangeness that we see spring up out of the dirt in many vibrant scenes around the world (we've mentioned Healing Power Records and Weird Canada on Sonic Masala in the past, and Australia has New Weird Australia whilst Brisbane has its fair share of unheralded gems in this realm), and Petra Glynt could be on the verge of breaking through to actual recognition beyond the pale of her hometown comparisons into a wider feeding pool. I hope she eats them all alive. You can get her Of This Land EP here.

Petra Glynt - War Cry
Petra Glynt - Fantasy Field Trip

Crypts are an art rock aberration out of Shoreditch in London. They are a rambling, synapse-frying free-for-all that take on the lysergic, hallucinogenic, carcinogenic shoes that Liars slip on when they feel like getting down, dirty and decidedly weird. The track 'I Fell To Nothing At All' is emblematic of the band's MO, hence its elongated time and aimless yet apocryphal approach - an extended play in one take, highlighting what to expect when the band release their debut release proper later in the month. I'm still a little confused as to what these guys are about, but I for one will take the journey to find out.

I tend to be a big fan of most bands that come out of Louisville, Kentucky - and White Reaper hasn't proven this theory wrong. Their White Aura album is pretty great (well, I liked it the one time I listened to it yesterday) and their latest release is even more arresting. Their Conspirator/The Cut 7" is one of slightly nihilistic, yet mainly flippant, rampant garage punk rock. It's the kind of thing I love, and I'm not alone, as they find themselves on the Cropped Out bill for this year (others visiting this year's festival - Endless Boogie and Wolf Eyes. Fuuuuuuuuuuuck). It isn't anything you haven't heard, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't kill. You can buy the 7" through Earthbound Records here.

White Reaper - Conspirator

LA project Artifacts is a one-man deal, started off the cuff after partaking in the blog-world and realising that there is so much good music out there - why not do your bit? The first taste of this currently stay-at-home act is 'Heal Me', which has a decidedly laidback 90s take on the dream pop mold (think Galaxie 500 as done by a close to comatose Nathan Williams). I really like this first stab; let's hope we hear more Artifacts soon.

And we're back in Minneapolis for some computer-age soul-training with Food Pyramid. The groove is in the machine, my friends. The band's new album is Ecstasy & Refreshment (out on Intercoastal Records), and it plays like Can in a time capsule of the future, the earth's axis in reverse, with the future the past and the past yet to occur. It's weirdly accessible even when fronting as impenetrable - whilst we aren't on new terrain (Trans Am in the literal sense, motorik post-punk in the DNA), Food Pyramid are giving us tasty morsels we can feast on over and again. The best cut is the first one (as is the way with culinary delights), 'Dexedream', inducing saliva and arousal in aural form. Adding to this delicacy is the presence of Jana Hunter of Lower Dens nestling her vocals amongst the lushness.You want to be at the top of this chain.

Food Pyramid - Dexedream
Food Pyramid - Maya Control

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

VIDEO VACUUM - Liars, Wild Wild Wets, Peals, Plant Parenthood

Going crosseyed is the spice of 21st century life. Here are four rectangular boxes with stuff moving in them to expedite that blissful process, hmmm?

Sonic Masala faves Liars have a couple new tracks floating around for those who haven't already joined their mailing list. Because they are good aliens. Strangers with candy and all that. If it tastes this good though, what's the harm in some lost innocence? None, I say. NONE.



San Diego's self-confessed psych party band Wild Wild Wets have just released a 7", Criminal Blue, through Grizzly Records. Its pretty good, keeping things loud, loose, limber and louche. Acid coco pops? Bacardi barbiturates? Helium hallucinogens? Whatever the poison of choice, guaranteed that after a hedonistic night with these guys, you'll wake up in the middle of a deciduous rainforest, naked, cut and bruised, tongue tied, wild eyed, and ready for round two.


Wild Wild Wets - Realized Into Redwood from Celeste Byers on Vimeo.

What is a peal of laughter anyway? A sudden, abrupt, high-pitched outpouring of mirth. Usually over the top, often inappropriate, always noticed. Put a peal in a plural, and you have a conversation stopper. Baltimore duo William Cashion (Future Islands) and Bruce Willen (Double Dagger)'s collaboration, Peals, also stops the chatter, only because the air in the room has been sucked out by its inordinate beauty. Intrinsic to such elegance is the undercurrent of flippancy. Its a weird mix, likely to cause eyes to close and a grin to crease the lips. And maybe - maybe - a peal of grateful, unfettered joy to bubble through.



I've already proclaimed my love of 'Transit Town', the lo-fi racket Knoxville's Plant Parenthood smashed out earlier this year (check that out here). Here is a suitably lo-fi racket smashed out on celluloid. MTV-of-the-80s worthy - riptastic. Just try to get this serrated hook out of your head.


NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Video Vacuum - Foot Village, Liars, James X Boyd & the Boydoids, Darkstar

 

First Video Vacuum of the year, so some of these may not be “new” as such. Nevertheless I've chosen three tracks because their film clips are awesome (so are the tracks) – and one because I like the band/song (although the vid is deliciously lo-fi and nerdy…)


I'm kicking it all off with a loooong one. Those crazy bastards Foot Village have a new record coming out next month called Making Memories (on Northern Spy), so they have released this music video for ‘The End Of The World’. Luckily for us the Mayans were wrong and we are still kicking on – but if I was doing a death march into fiery oblivion, these manic tub-thumpers would be my little drummer demons. Foot Village must feel the same – it is far more sedate than anything they have thus far done, which is not a detractor – it is beautifully constructed. It reminds me a little of Deerhoof’s ‘Hallelujah Chorus’, whilst the video is all anarchist slow grind. And the last minute and a half? Well, as far as streaming the new album goes, it’s pretty ingenious – if you live in America that is.



James Boyd is one busy cat. He is a part of garage centipede Velociraptor, garage commies The Majors – but he is tapping into something really special as a pop troubadour. James X Boyd and the Boydoids (great band name) are promising something truly special with their debut 12” through Long Gone Records later this year, this “video” for single ‘Elissa Says’ is all about kids fooling around in Brisbane sharehouses – a simple, innocent time where dreams are had and intermittently reached for. They haven’t played heaps of shows, but I'm hoping that 2013 puts Boyd and his ‘oids up at the top of the Brisbane pops.



Those twisted Liars certainly aren’t strangers in this neck of the woods. Sisterworld was one of my favourite albums of 2010, whilst WIXIW, although it’s shift had many people shuffling their feet, is a dark, sinuous grower, with ‘No 1 Against The Rush’ being my pick as song of 2012 (with an ace video). The title track from that album has become the trio’s third single, with a slick video to boot. A longhaired stoner type continually trying to dunk a ball but failing? Lots of people standing around, either bemused or confused? And that pagan god? Doesn’t really make sense – although the band love basketball apparently. Fair dues. Its still pretty intoxicating.



Finally we have UK band Darkstar. Now I haven’t had the chance to hear their album News From Nowhere yet – its getting some favourable reviews – I have listened to and watched the clip to single ‘Amplified Ease’ a multitude of times. It’s got that mantra-esque lyrics and warped rhythms that Animal Collective have claimed as their own (although you can name a huge number of other acts that now incorporated such elements), but with the film clip of the boys jamming their faces up against a tank (at Pinewood Studios, no less!), it heightens the experience. The song itself has an undulating presence that buries into your brain – a hypnotic pan flute of a track, leading you children away from the village, never to be heard from again.

Be Nice To Tachycardie

Now I'm tearing myself out of my cave with noise and bluster with the aid of Be Nice To Music, an ironic album title from French noisenik Tachycardie who does his utmost to abuse and violate your cerebral lobe. Think Ex Models, think Lightning Bolt, think early Liars, think That Fucking Tank! - shit, think of any aggressive noise outlet with propulsive hedonistic drumming and squalling guitars that nevertheless incorporate pop sensibilities into the mix (albeit screwed up almost beyond recognition) and that is Tachycardie's MO. I have had this album sitting around for a while, and I'm might pissed I haven't taken it on board before a couple weeks ago. This is a lot of white heat, mind melting fun.

Be Nice To Music is out through French label Cocktail Pueblo (who nonetheless have an 80s picture of Australia's The Big Banana as their banner - weirdly awesome!). Get it here.

Tachycardie - Futuristic Dancer
Tachycardie - Bicycle Riding

Video Vacuum - Liars, Sigur Ros, Vaadat Hitigam, Crows

I have the stiffest shoulders today. I'm so tired. I have no idea why. All I want to do is crawl into a cave and hibernate. But instead - let's see if some A/V multimedia will do the chiropractic trick!

This is the first track off the ranks, and it's not doing much to alleviate stress levels. Then again, it's a Liars track, a band not overly known for their soothing wilderness collages. It's for the second single of latest record WIXIW called 'Brats'. Man, it's more than a little fucked up (again, this is Liars...). A deliberately amateurish animation by Ian Cheng, the video looks half rendered and combined with early '00s GIF level of stop-motion. It's a bizarre rendition of the Elmer Fudd vs Bugs Bunny tale. The trio make a cameo too. You might want to have some paracetamol on hand though...



God, I think we need to cleanse the mind after that, and Icelandic nymphs Sigur Ros have just the thing. Directed by Ryan McGinley, the video for 'Varúð' is as glorious and spine-tingling as we have come to expect from these otherworldly gods.



Next is a true curveball. The band is a "side project" sprouting from Israeli punks TV Buddhas (check out their excellent Band In The Modern World EP) called Vaadat Harigim. It means Exemption Committee in English. The song, 'The World Is Long Gone', has a community television vibe that mirrors local public tv channel in Israel – channel 1, which produced a lot of crappy green screen videos in the late 80s for local new wave bands. It's in Hebrew, but band member Varul has kindly translated it for me:

Let's lie on the beach
Let's lie on our stomach
The deeper
the better
If we fall in love it's OK
'Cause there's no tomorrow,
And The world is long lost

This is the kind of sonic wavelength American slowwinders Real Estate like to traverse, so it comes with a seal of approval. Good track this one.



Finally we have 'Glamour Of The Gods' from London crew Crows. I had never heard of them before, and all they have sent me is this video, but it's slick and pretty enjoyable. Apparently it's set in my old stomping ground of Kilburn in London, which suits its slightly greasy, slightly dirty blues stomp crawl crunch (insert other onomatopoeia here). More please.



POP! And there is that knot forcibly worked out. Feel good? Yeah...NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Video Vacuum - Liars, Mind Spiders, Birthdays, Charbonneau

It's been some time since I got it on with the visuals, and I've had a few up my sleeve without acting on them. Well, this post is nothing if not to show off the new video for Liars' single 'No. 1 Against The Rush', a incredibly filmed, dark as fuck mood piece that starts solemn, gets fucking twisted, and ends in territory that will haunt my dreams. The Human Centipede 2 should have been this. Angus Andrew's facial expression says it all really. If the track is already whipping you into a frenzy for the upcoming LP WIXIW (it is for me), then this video will seal the deal.



Raging Texans Mind Spiders have just released Meltdown on Dirtnap Records, and 'Wait For Us' is off it. It portrays a guy apparently abandoned on a desolate planet, who calls out for help. Yet when it comes, the "rescuer" gets more than he bargains for... This is a slick video, much like the Liars video, and perfectly complements this killer tune.



Portland synthers Charbonneau have an 80stastic flick to correspond with their 'American Is My Favourite Language' track. Focusing on US billboards and signs, interspersed with some slow-mo spazz dancing, we have something affecting, amusing and addictive. I don't know who this band is, but this video is amazing.



Finally we have Boston act Birthdays, who threw me their 'Howolding Girls' video the other day (via Mike from Sippy Cup Everything). It has Birthdays (AKA Sam Yager) standing with a black background and various colours and images projected onto his face, the overall effect coming across as B-grade horror, glow-in-the-dark tribalism and Animal Collective eclecticism with the right amount of unease and fascination. The track itself emulates AC in its swathes of synth, yet with slightly more immediately accessible vocals... Good stuff. Birthdays is rocking with Gauntlet Hair in his hometown before winging his way to Japan for a two week jaunt - good luck dude, let us know how it goes!



NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Liars Get WIXIW WIXIW Wak

I love Liars. Really, truly love them. Sisterworld, their last album from 2010, killed, and took out our inaugural best of 2010 albums. So when the trio decide to get their freak on and pump out another record, you bet I'm rabid crazy about it. The single has just released the first taste off it, 'No. 1 Against The Rush', and goddamn if it isn't an addictive slice of pie! Slinky, ethereal, seductive, and oh so Liars. Who'da thunk it from when they first came to us that Angus Andrew could woo us with his dulcet tones... you can listen to it if you go to their Facebook page here.

More info on the record then. Titled WIXIW (pronounced “wish you”), the album is set for release on Mute on June 5th 2012. The title is explained by Angus Andrew,

“’wish you’ is a familiar and universal sentiment of longing and hope, but when misspelled becomes uniquely shrouded and difficult to interpret, which in many ways is representative of our music and the songs we wrote for this album”.

Watch what happens when human beings are confronted with WIXIW and see it manifest in unlikely places.

He continues, “The word being a palindrome offered us some comfort, and came from superstitious behavior that was the result of extreme uncertainty and doubt. The word and spelling struck us because it seemed to exude a special quality or power.”

“If we aren’t confusing people, it’s not us,” Andrew laughs. “If we aren’t confusing ourselves with what we do, then we’ve failed.”

WIXIW TRACKLISTING
The Exact Colour Of Doubt
Octagon
No.1 Against The Rush
A Ring On Every Finger
Ill Valley Prodigies
WIXIW
His And Mine Sensations
Flood To Flood
Who Is The Hunter
Brats
Annual Moon Words

SO FUCKING EXCITED! I have listened to this song forever today. Get it.

Posting Rank/Xerox's Punk

San Francisco has to be one of the best places in the world music-wise right now, especially if you love your guitar rock dirty, dingy and fun. But not all is fine and dandy. One of the best albums of 2011 came not from a garage group but some disgruntled guys that, alongside The Men, Iceage and Total Control, proved that some of the best music comes from the darkest spaces - and that post-punk is far from dead, despite many fuckwits' attempts to make it so. Rank/Xerox's self-titled debut is acid-tinged angularity, acid saliva and discord. What's not to love? Nothing, for this album, just like those mentioned above, have distilled what the genre's progenitors (read: Wire, Gang Of Four, Mission Of Burma) gave birth to, and adding so much verve and venom that it refuses to be ignored. I'm a douche for not putting this out there sooner. Rank/Xerox is vital. (Plus the lead dude is an Aussie, and what with Liars still pushing hard and Total Control killing, says something, dontcha think?)

Rank/Xerox is out now through Ros Records.

Rank/Xerox - Cave Dweller
Rank/Xerox - Nausea

Sonic Masala's Top Ten LPs of 2010

So this is what it all comes down to, the most important list of them all, Sonic Masala's Top Ten LPs of 2010. So in reverse order...

10. Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal

This album took time to grow on me, in fact I think Brooklyn based Daniel Lopatin's beautiful drone masterpiece is still growing on Brendan, but in time I'm sure he'll be won over. From the chaotic noise opening of Nil Admirari to the dense shimmer of Describing Bodies and even its blissed out drone wanderings of Stress Waves - this is a sublimely gorgeous abstract work.

Oneohtrix Point Never - Stress Waves

9. The Young - Voyagers of Legend

Out on Mexican Summer, this Austin rock four-piece seems to have been overlooked by many this year - but not Sonic Masala. The most considered raucous pop-punk album of 2010, jagged and rough but touched with a solemn emotive mood, this is like fighting with tears in your eyes.

The Young - Bird In The Bush

8. Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here?

Simply this years most beautiful album. The Cleveland trio really have captured something timeless in Does It Look Like I'm Here? With its delicate variations of mood and intensity each track seems to build its own momentum. Something I'm sure this album's reputation will do also, building momentum to be regarded as a modern classic.

Emeralds - Double Helix

7. Drum Eyes - Gira Gira

If there is one album this year that relentlessly pushes the totally insane card, then Drum Eyes' Gira Gira has to be it. Brooding, maximalist sonic expressions of the most warped minds. One minute sci-fi futurisms, the next driving trash insanity. A scarily fun riot of epic soundscapes.

Drum Eyes - 13 Magician

6. My Disco - Little Joy

My Disco is yet another band from Australia I wouldn't have found without Brendan's guidance. Criminally overlooked this year, Little Joy is the Melbourne trio's third LP. Pounding but calm, it is a work of rhythmic subtlety and relentless drive.

My Disco - Sunray

5. Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky

Right from the start Brendan has been telling me that My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky is one of the albums of the year, and just like the 13 year long road its taken Swans to reach this point, it took me a little while to see the true genius of this album. More approachable than the Swans' earlier brutal work but no less uncompromising. Swans with humanity and beauty? Maybe. Epic? Yes.

Swans - You Fucking People Make Me Sick

4. Liars - Sisterworld

Even with its early release Sisterworld was always going to be up there for Sonic Masala. The fifth Liars album is relentlessly tense, full of surreal imagery and anxiety. Strangely it didn't make the impact on the year we thought it would, but for us its the Liars at their most contagious.

Liars - Scissor

3. Zach Hill - Face Tat

Zach Hill is a sticksmith genius, that can't be denied. But Face Tat, his second full solo LP, underlines his credentials as a truly innovative musician. Astrological Straits was truly a bizarre and mesmerizing album, but Face Tat really takes Zach's solo work to a new level with the ferocious style with which he assaults his drums underpinning it all. Intense, deceptive, challenging, Face Tat sounds disorienting and alien at first, thanks partly to Hill's bizarre sound sources - but the more you delve into this 40 minute frenzy the more you are rewarded.

Zach Hill - Memo to the Man

2. Rangda - False Flag

Super groups are a strange thing. Whilst the depth of talent that makes up the Rangda trio is eye wateringly impressive - guitarists Sir Richard Bishop (Sun City Girls) and Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance) and drummer Chris Corsano - it can be hard for the end result to be greater than the sum of the parts. However, Rangda's False Flag so is. An uncompromising beast of a record, it is simultaneously brutal and dynamic, subtle and beautiful. Rangda landed and took our breath away.

Rangda - Serrated Edges

1. Women - Public Strain

So here it is, the Sonic Masala best LP of 2010. Surprised? Maybe, but its not a compromise. In fact we really didn't want our end of year first to be just what we agreed upon, this choice has got conviction behind it. Some may have dismissed this album at first listen. In fact I almost did, such was my love of Woman's self titled debut. But give Public Strain repeated listens and its infectious off key claws and howls work their way into your soul. We're not calling Public Strain a grower - oh no, it much more deadly than that.

At first Public Strain's sunny rhythms might come to the fore, but as the drone driven aesthetics build from behind the scenes it becomes a different beast, sweet but sour, bleak but beautiful, crisp but soaked in reverb. Those chirpy tempos hiding its dark noise underbelly waiting to leak into your consciousness. With Women's first outing pop sweetness was kept separate from dark drone noise, but here Women have spawned something of frightening beauty. Public Strain is Sonic Masala's record of the year and its been quality gaining ground since August - now we can't let it go.

Woman - Drag Open

So there you have it, we left the list late so we knew we had everything. There's nothing more annoying than an end of list that drops in early November, we're the polar opposite. So what do you think? Have we missed anything? Is there a gem you'd push to the top? Let us know.

Sonic Masala's Fave Gigs of 2010!

OK, so we have seen a hell of a lot of gigs this year, so much so that it has been hard to keep track! So over a couple of Doom Bars on Sunday we tried to nut it all out, and still managed to miss a couple (ah...Mono?!?!?). Anyway, with our collective hazy memories somewhat in check, here are our favourite shows that blew us away. Again, there are more than ten here - no need in splitting hairs really. And whilst still not in a rigid order, the top few were the highlights amongst the highlights...

Sonic Masala's Favourite Shows of 2010

Double Dagger - ALL OF THEM! (Lock Tavern/Rest Is Noise/Cargo

Godspeed You Black Emperor (The Troxy)

White Hills/Pontiak (The Luminaire)

Thee Silver Mt Zion Orchestra (Electric Ballroom)

Mono (Scala)

Liars (Heaven)

Deerhunter (Heaven)

Part Chimp/Sloath/Gum Takes Tooth (The Luminaire)

Fuck Buttons/Factory Floor (Heaven)

My Disco/Factory Floor/Snowman (The Lexington)

The Knife - "Tomorrow, In A Year" opera (The Barbican)

Mi Ami/Islet (Barden's Boudoir)

Pontiak (Old Blue Last)

Action Beat/Stig Noise/Shield Your Eyes (The Macbeth)

Thee Oh Sees/Sex Beet (The Luminaire/Plan B)

Women (Cargo/The Social)

TuNe-YaRdS/Trash Kit (Cargo)

Eddy Current Suppression Ring (The Zoo, Brisbane, Australia - yep, my guilty pleasure!)

Explosions Set For 2011

What a couple of weeks for my favourite bands! First Mogwai announce details about their new album, then I see an awesome set by Liars at Heaven, then Mogwai release album track 'Rano Pano'...can it get any better? Of course! Now there's a dosage of brill news for another of my fave all time bands, Explosions In The Sky. The Austin Texas instrumental powerhouse will release their as yet unnamed new album in the Springtime - lovely! - and have coincided this with some UK shows! They will be playing the Roundhouse on May 19, so get your shit together, cos tickets went on sale TODAY!

Now, if there was just a way to keep the Luminaire open, 2011 would be the raddest year ever...

Explosions In The Sky - Memorial

Step Into The Sisterworld, Or Out Into Wild Nothing?

Tough night for London gig-goers tonight. Sonic Masala perennial favourites Liars play Heaven (where SM saw a blistering Deerhunter gig in May - I think its primed to be usurped here...), bringing the brilliance of their dangerous live performances and their unique, sinister back catalogue with them. Riding high after their amazing Sisterworld LP, Liars have taken no prisoners, and this promises to be no different.

But then there is Upset The Rhythm, who continue to rumble forward with their gargantuan gig list. Tonight they host Jack Tatum AKA Wild Nothing, whose Gemini release was a highlight amongst the glut of bedroom lo fi pop meanderings that have permeated the airspace this year, and he followed it up with great little EPs Evertide and Golden Haze. Ably supported by great Mancunian band Mazes (who also support Titus Andronicus in a couploe weeks' time!) and Exeter's New Years Evil (we talked about their split 7" release on Art Is Hard Records here), this promises to be a stellar all round show at Cargo. There's lots of tix left for this one on the door too, so if you cant get your hands on a Sisterworld golden ticket, you can trundle in there.

Wild Nothing - Drifter

Liars - Strangers

Evolution Is A Lie

Liars continue to pursue world domination in order to turn us all into their adulatory slaves - and that seems fine to us. Their Proud Evolution EP starts off reaffirming the brilliance of their imagined Sisterworld, complete with Thom York's reinterpretation of the titular track and a vivid reworking of it live at Shepherds Bush Empire. All of this is superfluous to all true Liars fans - surely you own the first two and have seen them play it live, infinitely better than hearing a live track? No, its the three B-sides that are the true reason to grab this release, and its a very good reason. 'Come Now', 'Total Frown' and 'Strangers' are crawlers, stepping away from their stark post-punk and delving into their Gothic art pop, ratcheting up the tension heightened by lead Angus Andrew's low murmurs and haunting wails.

Liars are treating us with another visit in November too (the 6th, at Heaven), so you can become an acolyte to the Liars underworld too...

Liars - Strangers

Chickenhawk

Leed's Chickenhawk did a great show a few months back when supporting Bo Ningen and Pulled Apart By Horses at the 100 Club. I must admit I was blown away by the bands that came after, but just a few tracks was enough to have me intrigued. Paul mentioned that their sound had matured somewhat - I just have to shrug my shoulders here as Ive only caught them the once. But they are worth keeping on the radar...

And this is going to be a little easier to do in the upcoming months as Brew Records push Chickenhawk's newie 'Scorpieau', their upcoming LP Modern Bodies due out November 1st, and their tour with Alexisonfire. Plus they are playing the Constellations Festival (as are SM favourites Liars), and doing a show with Torche and Part Chimp. Get set for Chickenhawk to swoop into all your houses, blister the paint of your walls and the skin off you bones, then pick at the entrails...

A Green Reception

Listening to Bridal Party's 'Under Peyote' doesn't remind me of being under peyote. At all. It sure is trippy though. And it actually reminds me of a wedding reception I went to back in 2007... But that was marijuana - and beer - and red wine - and tequila - and a darkened golf course - and a taxi rank - and red vomit - and a swimming pool. So...yeah.

Its going to have that immediate Animal Collective tag pinned to its chest, but 'Under Peyote' has a droning quality all its own due to Mike Marias's insistent monotone vocals and that spaced-out opening guitar line. However, most of the songs on album Born Again On Dark Star are that bit left of centre, that bit in the shadows, that bit skewed and twisted, that they come across more like if Animal Collective were to look into a warped mirror, their features melding into each other until the image that could be made out was an amalgam of their limbs, eyes and hair, a crazy kaleidoscopic Rorshach print. Or the inverted reflection of Liars...

You can find this track on the Illinois outfit's album, which they are releasing for free on their bandcamp page. Exciting stuff.

Bridal Party - Under Peyote
Bridal Party - Made Me

More of a Monday cover massacar from Beck

Sorry for the lack of a Friday cover up on Friday, again, work had other ideas about me posting. Thanks to Bren for stepping in with the ace Creedence Clearwater Revival cover but I did have a a few tasty tasty morsels up my sleeve and this one is too good to wait till the end of the week.

Now you may of heard of Beck's Record Club. The project was conceived as a way for Beck to get his mates to get together to re-record a favorite record or two, or as the official sources put it "an informal meeting of various musicians to record an album in a day." Part having fun, part art project, it may not be an original idea for a bunch of musicians to get together and play some covers but what makes this a really special project is the cast of alt music's great and good that Beck can pull together to have a jam. Each track is 'released' with a documentary video, one a week, the whole process it makes for compelling viewing.

For the fourth edition of record club Beck brought together Liars, St. Vincent and Sergio from Os Mutantes to have a bash at Kick by INXS. (Yeah you read that right!!) Its awesome and you see more below...


Record Club: INXS "Mystify" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Beck's Record Club (Liars, St. Vincent, Sergio - Mystify (INXS)

But the cover up awesomeness doesn't stop there. In a surprising twist the Record Club's fifth album is Yanni’s Yanni Live at the Acropolis performed by no less than Thurston Moore and Tortoise. I know, sounds fucking amazing doesn't it? You can find out more here, but the first track and video from the session is below, blew me away!


Record Club: Yanni "Santorini" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Beck's Record Club (Thurston Moore & Tortoise) - Santorini (Yanni cover)