Happy Damage In The Jacuzzi

Back in 2009, before I started Sonic Masala with Paul, he made me a mixtape (awww!) of all the bands that he thought I would be into. On that list was stuff from Thee Oh Sees, Meth Teeth, Vivian Girls and Monotonix - most of the others I can't remember (I lost the CD when I had to move back over to London from Australia last year...) One band I do remember was the deliriously scuzzy insanity of Miami garage rockers Jacuzzi Boys (the track - 'Island Avenue' - the type of track that Brisbane mates Tiny Migrants used to spit out). I have always been into their brand of scrappy, explosive sounds, and new EP Happy Damage is more of the same. The darker 'Sun' is more my cup of rock, but the explosive title track is heaps of fun too. Blast it out of the speakers to see out your Sunday.

Imbogodom Weaves Another Beguiling Web

Imbogodom has a new album out - that's the project of Alexander Tucker and Daniel Beban. I saw Tucker play solo as support of A Silver Mt Zion back in 2010 - it was pretty sweet. These tracks off And They Turned Not When They Went (fresh off Thrill Jockey's shelves) are as eclectic and intricate as always. Following last year's Imbogodom debut The Metallic Year and Tucker's 2011 solo album Dorwytch, the duo clearly have upped the ante in their aims to compose, dismantle, and expand their songwriting. It isn't an easy listen, but that is part of Imbogodom's point. Unpacking the music is as much the listener's job as it is the musicians', and on this LP there is some fun to be had.

Field recordings such as the utilisation of live feeds from the Houses of Parliament's bell Big Ben intermingle with pastoral dirges, ghostly tape manipulations and skewed sonics, coalescing in an experience that may be trying for those looking for a semblance of conventional structure. Even expressionistic acts like Explosions In The Sky have a clear, definable M.O. - Tucker and Beban work hard to abolish these notions. It's foreboding and even deliberately confrontational - an experiment that teeters on the knife's edge of unmitigated disaster.

In my opinion, And They Turned Not When They Went has its merits. 'Rubbings' is a piano collage that battles valiantly with synthetic brushstrokes, whilst 'Heir Looms' and closer 'Pillars Of Ash' are the closest that we get to actual songs, with the duo bringing their voices to the mix for good measure. It doesn't always work - it can be incredibly cold in between the corrupted soundscapes - but, again, that seems to be part of the point. Isolate yourself from all amenities and warm bodies, and let Imbogodom take you to a parallel, inverted universe along a path less travelled.


And They Turned Not When They Went is out now on Thrill Jockey.

Imbogodom - Heir Looms
Imbogodom - Rubbings

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!)