KFJC 89.7FM

Music Reviews

SBTDOH – “Dregs: Bloody Scabs Seeping From Gravel Under the Skin” – [Aberrant Recordings]

Number 6   3/17/2024   A Library, Cassette

imagine being picked up by a giant and shaken to splattered gore while listening to this.  and it would be not unlike being surrounded, embedded within CIA renditioned black site torture chambers, a fully immersed capsule of audio speakers with amplitudes undreamed of, not unlike the equivalent IDF cages built and designed with the same function in Israel and Gaza. not unlike any parallel horror hospital basement in every secret State Security Dept’s clandestine shrine to power and control over its cheap laborious unworthy citizens. imagine that giant’s quick death gesture almost merciful in haste then come back down to earth and bury your burdens under this aural monstrosity for hours and hours. you may wonder how those less fortunate felt when their betters took them in for rehabilitation and special administrative measures 

Luge – “I Love It Here, I Live Here” – [Self Release]

karma   3/15/2024   A Library, CD

We don’t have nearly enough Canadian-Latvian experimental music in our library. Luge is a band from Toronto that pushes the envelope. The songs feature math-rock like time signatures and every key possible. The songs, in both English and Latvian, talk about everything from dating, social media, and whatever is on their minds. This is the kind of amazing quirky music that keeps listeners and reviewers on their toes, and is “Very KFJC.”

Melody Fields – “1991” – [Nudie Records]

karma   3/15/2024   12-inch, A Library

From friends of the station Nudie Records, a fresh release from Swedish psychedlic band Melody Fields. This release bridges the gap between psychedelia and ambient music. The first half of the album is calmer and the album gradually rocks out. Vocals are used sparingly and almost function like an instrument. Perfect album for a morning drive.

Egrets on Ergot – “Battle-Choice-Luxe” – [Royal Dog Records]

Preston Peace   3/13/2024   12-inch, A Library

Self-described anarcho-punks live up to that label on their second album (actually “two EPs combined, recorded a year apart”).
Sonically, their sound borrows elements from no wave and The Ex, and in their political lyrics, dual vocal attack, and saxophone lines, I found some common ground with DC’s Black Eyes, but if these are their influences, they aren’t worn on their sleeve. The music is often dissonant, and always dread-filled and agitated, an apt companion to their lyrical subjects- colonialism, quiet misogyny, the mental and physical damage inflicted upon us by societal norms, systemic prejudices, and institutions of oppression. Be sure to follow along- all the lyrics are printed on the inner sleeve.

A5 is an industrial soundscape with sampled dialog discussing Section 1008 of the Title X statute, 42 U.S.C. 300a-6, whose interpretation was used to deny federal funds to family planning institutions under the Trump administration.

One FCC on A4 (‘shitty’).

Bug, The – “Absent Riddim” – [Pressure]

Preston Peace   3/13/2024   A Library

A 17-track riddim collection from The Bug featuring a diverse gathering of guests vocalists means there’s probably something for everyone on this record. Be sure to check out track 17 first for the riddim—if it doesn’t move you, best move on. Those who stick around will find sounds ranging the gamut from dancehall (#1, #4, #9) to Godflesh-esque industrial (#2, with guest Justin Broadrick, of course) to confrontational raps (#5, #16) and leftfield APC-esque rhymes (#6) to guttural growls and tortured screams (#14) to chanted/ranted/incanted sermons delivered by Mark Stewart (#10) and Nik Bullen (#15). Those looking for a more melodic vocal will find it here too, whether plaintive (#7) or paranoid (#12), subdued and dreamlike (#3, #8), blended with trumpet (#11), or a wordless haze (#13).

The genesis of this 2022 release was a rejected remix for metal band Absent in Body. Kevin Martin picked up the pieces, shed the original stems, and created a dubwise, skulking beat reminiscent of some of the material on his 2017 collab with Earth. More than a mere backing track repeated, the riddim was customized and adjusted for most—albeit not all—of the vocalists.

FCCs: #4, #5, #9, #12, #16

RIP Nazamba (#1) and Jaimie Branch (#11), both of whom passed before this could be released.

Boni, Raymond/Fernandes, Joao/Boni, Bastien – “Energy Quest” – [Mazeto Square]

Albion Moonlight   3/13/2024   CD, Jazz

An interesting release from Mazeto Square, featuring the trio of Raymond Boni on guitar, Joao Fernandez on electronics and other instruments, and Bastien Boni on double-bass. 11 short to medium-length compositions/improvisations highlight these musicians’ sensitivity and restraint. The compositions are very free and for the most part devoid of melody. To my ears, if the canonical compositions of the Art Ensemble represent vertebrates, these compositions represent the building blocks of life in a predawn primordial ooze, free of structure, free of the influences of Western music.

From the Mazeto Square website: ‘It is a game of improvisation and sound exploration: the energy of the performance gives shape to unique music in each performance.’

Albion Moonlight

Ciani, Suzanne and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – “Sunergy” – [Rvng Intl.]

oliviasystem   3/12/2024   12-inch, A Library

Sunergy is a cross-generational collaboration between synthesists Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and her former mentor, Suzanne Ciani. Even the instruments span generations with Smith’s use of the Buchla Music Easel and Ciani’s command over the Buchla 200e. This thirteenth installment of the FRKWYS series begins with “New Day”, an oceanic yet cosmic piece that slowly builds and reveals itself to the listener. Over 20 minutes, imagine yourself standing at the edge of a beach on a shimmering evening, watching night turn into day as the last flickers of twilight burn off. If “New Day” represents a day on Earth, “Closed Circuit” has you fully in space. While the shortest track of the 3 (at just over 12 minutes), there’s a controlled maximalist energy that takes the audience through their Buchla-narrated space warp. The bonus track, “Retrograde”, takes elements of both tracks before it and expands on the cosmic theme of the record. If you’re a fan of Ciani’s work of the 70s (think: Buchla Concerts 1975), this album draws from those ideas heavily alongside Smith’s flair for the psychedelic. You might think “Oh, more of the same”, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.

Shawnis and the Shimmers – “Whip It Out!” – [Adang Record Company]

Isotope   3/12/2024   7-inch, A Library

You’ll hear three tracks of high-energy garage punk on this 7-inch by the queer punk band Shawnis and the Shimmers of Richmond, Virginia. They self-describe as sassy, raunchy, queer, weirdo. Speaking of raunchy, you can barely hear the lyrics for the high-energy low-fi instrumental work. Whip out this music when you need a musical amphetamine. Play the track titled “The Munchies” when you’re hungry and make sure you have snacks nearby. I couldn’t hear the lyrics on the track “What I Need” either, but I’m pretty sure it’s what I need too. Listen to this music because it’s pure head-whipping fun.

Patois Counselors – “Enough: One Night at the Daisy Chain” – [Ever/never]

Isotope   3/12/2024   A Library, CD

My three words for this album are swirl, dark, and fuzz, and the lyrics to its 11 songs are clever, articulate, and aware. Other words I’d use are “restrained” and “off-kilter.” Patois Counselors are a post-punk band that numbers six members on this album, with Bo White the vocalist. They are based in North Carolina, but they recorded this album in one night at the Daisy Chain studio in Brooklyn, New York.

The album’s rough post-punk sound shows off some great synthesizer work, especially on the track “Get Excitement.” The mood is ambient punk, and I heard a couple of nods to Irish ballads. Bo White sounds like the everyman who needs to sing his news rather than tell it. The lyrics shine with themes of power and class, scarcity and survival, and the search for sensation, among others. My favorite tracks include the aforementioned “Get Excitement,” “Bands I Barely Spoke With,” which has a nostalgic wistfulness about it, and “The Galvinizer.” Earlier versions of several of these songs have appeared on previous albums, but there’s a lot of new material as well. A great album from a band with something to say.  

Smut – “First Kiss” – [Iron Lung Records]

whngr   3/11/2024   12-inch, A Library

SLIPPERY WHEN SMUT

Hot, wet, and infectious hardcore punk that veers into garage rock production with explicit red-light district themes (no FCC’s). Chugging crunch, yells, heavy breathing, lung butter, thicc bass-lines (ball-sines) and a big thumping floor-tom at speed… just long fast strokes like a pubescent who doesn’t know any better. All tracks punctuated by warbly guitar feedback. Careful sleuthing will find the frontman’s ugly unit on display during live sets.

Four-piece (probably defunct) outta:

Los Angeles, CA – 2020

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