Peaceful Gnashing Under Spectral Shelter

From noise-infused pop to - well - just noise. The debut album for Terence Hannum (from heavy metallic outsiders Locrian) is available on vinyl through Shelter Press, and it offers something that can't always be maintained by avatars of noise-isms - Spectral Life is a meditation, a sonic mantra that somehow disappears inside its own abrasive exterior, becoming a tinnitus-bearing lullaby. The shearing sparks-off-metal cyclical is actually beautiful in its tantric endurance - a maintenance of that finely tuned balance between pain and pleasure. Proof that it's possible to find eternal peace in the seventh level of hell, Spectral Life is a soothing yet searing masterclass in how drone music can enter the blackest realms yet still remain alluringly hypnotic. Great stuff.

You can pick up Spectral Life here- seriously, a precious find.

Dwelling In Kwaidan's Bright Drone Metal

Back in 2011 I spoke about a band from Chicago called Locrian. I really dug their The Clearing release from 2011 - still do - but haven't really paid them much mind since. The excellent Bathetic Records have put forth some pretty bloody good releases of late (Lee Noble's Ruiner is also ace - more on that soon), and their latest presser is for the debut LP from Kwaidan, which features Locrian's Andre Foisy. Bathetic and Locrian dragged me in - but Make All The Hell Of Dark Metal Bright is darkly, seductively hypnotic by its own standards.

Firstly, check out the cover art - this is such a rad photo, I would be pressured to listen to this on the image alone. Foisy is joined by Mike Weis (Zelienople) and Neil Jendon, underscoring Kwaidan's penchant for insidious drone. Yet these elements still didn't prepare me for the dense atmospherics that Make All The Hell... unleashes. The pervading sense of oppressive anxieties that the percussive undercurrents push to the surface, an undulating presence intermingling with the slight electronics, percolating guitar and ghostly piano lines to create an ominous beauty - the fog rolling over mountain ranges, licking the heels of the forest floor, or linger in backwater streets as the light seeps up over the horizon.

Make All The Hell... contains all the elements that makes drone music an essential element of the musical landscape; underscore why drone is a necessary byproduct of psych musicality; and how the strained tensions of the loud/quiet dynamic can be endlessly utilised for maximum effect without falling into the familiar tropes that mediocre post-rock aficionados flock to. This is an incredible record.

You can pre-order Make All The Hell Of Dark Metal Bright here - it is quite brilliant.

All Aboard The FFS Locrian

I haven't had much to do with Flingco Sound System in the past half year, yet there is an excellent release out now that is well worth making time reacquainting. The 7" single from Locrian actually opens with a cover, Krautrock act Popol Vuh's 'Dort ist Der Weg', and it is fucking amazing - motorik in the seventh level of a Paradise Lost. The sound is immaculate too - it is by far the best I have ever heard the Chicago noise torturers sound. The B-side then is left for a new track, 'Frozen In Ash'. Having been spending much of my time listening to FFS-championed Brisbane trio No Anchor, I have left Bruce and his minions alone for a while - but if this is the first of many releases to blow my mind coming out of his Hellhole, expect me to become an avid acolyte again in short order.

As always the vinyl looks purty too - check it out below, grab it here:



Locrian - Dort Ist Der Weg

October, October, A Dark Week Of No Anchor...

Back in May of this year, hedonistic (at least in theory) sludge-rock band No Anchor released their third album Real Pain Supernova. Big shows, gushing reviews and sell-outs of the first LP print ensuring the band have a little crumb in the pocket. Now they are pumping out a second pressing (because they are gluttonous, money-hungry bastards) and have a national tour booked, which finishes up with an almighty 1-2 combo - a support slot with Japanese noise monoliths Mono in Perth, then a 'residency' of seven consecutive nights at Brisbane's The Waiting Room. Cramming into the tiny West End venue promises to be a balltearer (or possibly a ballache - how much punishment can one take?), and for better or worse, Im taking on the seven day challenge.

TOUR DATES

Wed, Sept 21 - The Croatian Club, Newcastle NSW
Sat, Sept 24 – The Old Bar, Melbourne, VIC
Sun, Sept 25 – The Squatters Arms Hotel, Adelaide SA
Mon, Sept 26 – The Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC
Tues, Sept 27 – The Make It Up Club, Bar Open, Melbourne, VIC
Thurs, Sept 29 – The Patch, Wollongong, NSW
Fri, Sept 30 – Repressed Records (Afternoon Show), Sydney NSW
Fri, Sept 30 – Tone St, Sydney, NSW
Sat, Oct 1 – The Tatts Hotel, Lismore, NSW
Sun, Oct 9 – The Bakery, Perth WA w/ Mono (Japan)
Sat, Oct 15 – The Waiting Room, Brisbane QLD
Sun, Oct 16 – The Waiting Room, Brisbane QLD
Mon, Oct 17 – The Waiting Room, Brisbane QLD
Tues, Oct 18 – The Waiting Room, Brisbane QLD
Wed, Oct 19 – The Waiting Room, Brisbane QLD
Thurs, Oct 20 – The Waiting Room, Brisbane QLD
Fri, Oct 21 – The Waiting Room, Brisbane QLD

Shut My Mouth by No Anchor

Dead Pony by No Anchor