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goodbysunball · 2 years

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Mid-year report: 2022

The year's halfway gone and I'm still sifting through the stacks, trying to be an effective filter and engaged listener. Witness as I try to explain why these six LPs are tops for this year so far. Shaking off the rust, here goes nothin'.

Börn, Drottningar Dauðans, (Iron Lung)

No disrespect to the actual cover art, but the art Jensen at Iron Lung put together for Börn's latest LP test pressing was/is so sick that I had to grab it. It could've been the inflated price tag that led to initial listens to Drottningar Dauðans leaving me a little cold, but now I understand that every track here burns hard and bright and fizzles out spectacularly. This is probably best illustrated by "Þú Hvíslar," but it happens on nearly every track, sometimes sounding like the band collapsed in exhaustion while recording, unceremoniously cutting a track short. Börn rips way harder than the million death rock-tinged punk bands flooding the scene, though, not least of all due to the crisp, loud recording. Another not-so-secret weapon is the vocals, cloaked in reverb but still caustic as hell and single-handedly capable of increasing the tension tenfold (see "Norn"). The band holds their own, fueling the vocalist with heat and enough open space to thrive, pushing each other especially hard on the ripping 1-2 of "Flakandi Sár" and "Þú Skuldar Mér Að Vera Sexý." A real shot in the arm, this LP, over and out in 22 minutes. Iron Lung strikes again. Please tour the U.S.

Thomas Bush, Preludes (Mammas Mysteriska Jukebox)

Back in the heyday of Low Company (le sigh), the store/label called Thomas Bush's Old and Red (warehouse find!) record of the year the second it was released. I do like that record, bought sound unheard due to Low Company's recommendation, but it's high time to revisit it after the spell Preludes has put me under. I remember Old and Red being delightfully hazy but dense, and perhaps a bit overlong; Preludes is (at least to my memory) a distillation of the best parts of Old and Red, less opaque but doubly effective. Preludes starts out with "Firstly," which is as standard of a mode as you'll find Thomas Bush in, his inner gently plucked acoustic guitar singer-songwriter fully activated. The script quickly flips to his primary mode of smudged pop impressionism on "Paid to Love" and reaches its logical conclusion on the gorgeous melancholy loops of "Cadence." The distance traveled in the first 5-6 minutes of the record is immense in some ways, moving from what could be popular to the sub-underground, but it's all tied together beautifully, thanks in part to the steady, calming flow. This is a perfect record for rain, a contrast to unrelenting falling water (or accompaniment to it, as on "Jennifer"), something to help process the overwhelming day-to-day with cool detachment. The restraint it takes to make a track like "Odeep One," barely held together between electronic drumbeats, is impressive without considering the deep emotional impact. Preludes isn't happy music, but it is rich in sensory detail without being heavy or oppressive, something best exhibited by the meandering, Daniel Schmidt-esque "In the Sunken Undergrowth." I don't think hearing individual tracks will do the trick, though; Preludes should be heard and experienced in full, and while that attention to something so spare is hard to buy, it's well worth the effort. Stone cold stunner; well recommended to folks who enjoyed last year's Monokultur LP.

Joe Colley, Deformation of Tone (Total Black)

"You tie the chain around your waist and... that's it, baby." Joe Colley, the indefatigable, locates an unmapped spot between the abrasive and the surgically precise aspects of noise; sound grinds, chirps, pounds and whirrs, but is pared back to the fewest elements necessary to make that possible. It is no small feat to have a noise record sound so spare and yet so quietly powerful without resorting to the usual tricks of transgressive lyrics/samples and unrelenting feedback (though there is something to be said for the latter). With due deference to the effort it takes to make these sorts of records well, Deformation of Tone sounds very clean, very professional, with the right amount of grit and spatter and a dose of existential dread injected to make the two sides deeply affecting. There are track titles, but it's recommended to take this in as two movements, the unrelenting background noise of modern industrial society interwoven with the debilitating anxiety hanging over every moment. It's grim, but it's real, and as hinted at by Seymour Glass in his assessment of the record, Deformation of Tone is completely devoid of the eyeball-seeking tactics of more well-known artists working in the same sphere. The art speaks for itself. Stunning LP jacket to boot, featuring Joe's cement speaker and the apt warning "Playback discouraged." Record of the year so far.

Heavenly Bodies, Universal Resurrection (Petty Bunco)

Petty Bunco continues to work its magic: across a couple of tapes and a previous LP, Heavenly Bodies didn't make much of an impression here, but then they transition to a full-on force once they get picked up by the nation's finest guitar rock label. Slow-building instrumental rock by a trio is what's for sale, and Universal Resurrection is a 25-minute track split across two sides of an LP. I'm a strong proponent of the single-sided 12", but the choice to split the track in two as naturally as possible was sound here. The A-side is the glistening build-up, weed smoke practically unfurling from the speakers, and the B-side comes crashing in with ecstatically smeared guitar heroics that oughta satisfy any Les Rallizes Denudes head. There is something almost formless and definitely mysterious about how the band builds tension at the start, a far cry from more generic "post-rock" practitioners, in that Heavenly Bodies seem much more comfortable not knowing what may come next. To be sure, the volume does slowly build as expected, but it's never clear what will follow each segment until you flip the record and the 20-foot wave descends on you. The whole movement of the two sides feels renewing, some cobwebs shaken and some bullshit left behind. What other point is there in listening to music anyway? Trust in Petty Bunco.

Incipientium, Belastning (Förlag För Fri Musik)

While there have been arguably bigger releases coming from the rich Gothenburg vein this year, something about Incipientium's Belastning keeps drawing me in. There is a fresh and untethered feel about the project, well-captured on the shapeshifting "Kall Savann" that takes up the A-side, where vaguely human noises emerge and disappear in the hazy mist of a half-remembered memory. It sounds like the needle's hit a locked groove near the end, and you'll probably wish the grimy, syrupy loop would keep going, too. The plodding, seasick lurch continues on the B-side, but after the warped moaning of "Cuna," things open up to a blinding white void near the end of "Sol Tympanum," distorted keyboard notes dropping the listener in the center of a frozen northern lake with not a cloud in the sky. It's probably this stunning finish that keeps me coming back, looking over the rest for the hints of bright white against the oppressive yet captivating gray smothering the proceedings. It's probably obvious, but this record did the trick in the doldrums of winter, sympathetic and transportive at once. Incipientium quickly followed Belastning with a CD on iDEAL, well worth seeking out as well.

Rose Mercie, ¿Kieres Agua? (Celluloid Lunch/Jelodanti)

Truth be told, I had forgotten all about Rose Mercie's self-titled record in the avalanche between 2018 and now, but now I'm left wondering if I would've been better off with Rose Mercie at my side during the tumult. If the cover didn't give it away, this is a much more self-assured record, despite the primary ingredients staying the same. The vocals switch seamlessly from English to French to Spanish, the guitar lines are slow and rudimentary, the tom-heavy drums pushing everything forward with a quiet, repetitive intensity. Tracks like "Dinosaur" and "Cats & Dogs" pair heartbreak with resiliency, the group acting like an informal gang, one member supporting the next. The music sounds as tight-knit as a chosen family oughta be, but portrayed with a looseness belying the myriad textural choices made apparent over multiple spins. Rose Mercie stretch things out on a few tracks to great effect, like "Regresar," where dark contrast is added by sheets of dissonant guitar pushing against the grain. On most tracks the storm simmers and rumbles but rarely bursts ("Des Pierres"), but the vocals are often colorful and emotive, though the harmonizing of the group often as acidic as it is sparkling. Don't let that last part scare you away - check "Chais Pas," the band's got switchblades in their boots. There are a lot of really good things happening on this record, with the repetitive drumming and confident vocals leading the way; mostly, though, this just sounds like a group of badass friends linking up to make a record that is as fun to listen to as it is a richly detailed piece of art. Rose Mercie, four in a million. If my daughter's ever in a band, I hope she'll reference the blueprint provided on ¿Kieres Agua?. Never stop witching.

Other new stuff that I like & recommend:

Brain Tourniquet, s/t 7" (Iron Lung)

Cube, Proof of Bells CD (H&S Ranch)

Darksmith of California, "Island of Stability" / "Primitive Version" CS (No Rent)

Primitive Man, Insurmountable 12" (Closed Casket Activities)

Sunhiilow, Waking Through the Dawned Shades CS (Ikuisuus)

A few reissue/archival releases:

Incapacitants, As Loud As Possible 2xLP + 7" (Total Black)

Mura, 2008-2021 LP (An'archives)

Black Easter, Ready to Rot 7" (No Plan)

#Börn #Iron Lung Records #Thomas Bush #Joe Colley #Total Black #Incipientium #Heavenly Bodies #Petty Bunco #Rose Mercie #Brain Tourniquet #Cube #Darksmith #Primitive Man #Sunhiilow #Incapacitants #Mura #An'archives #Black Easter

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