Earth - Hex; Or Printing in the Infernal Method

Time for something a bit more obscure again...


Long have I been a dedicated fan of Drone Doom, and many bands have come and gone, or changed genre or just started making really uninspiring music. This is especially a crime when one is dealing with such a niche genre. Earth have been of those who, since 1989, have been producing high quality music, with evolving style and sound. Quite an achievement for this particular genre. 


Listening to Earth, as with all music from this genre, is a very unique experience, and you either love it or hate it. Some may think of it as depressing, I see it as reflective music. Music I listen to when I am browsing the web, relaxing on my bed sometimes even while reading appropriately themed books. But it works best when you want some time to yourself, ideally with headphones. If you close your eyes it won't take long before you're sucked into a whole new world. Hex; Or Printing in the Infernal Method will take you down a road new for Earth, one that has elements of country music in it. The slide guitar and broody atmosphere are signs of that. plus the incredible album art which was influenced by Cormac McCarthy's western novel Blood Meridian. The of the album comes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. The album came out in 2005, after several years of absence. The reason was Dylan Carlson, lead instrumentalist and brain behind Earth, was going through legal and drug problems. Interestingly enough, he was the person who bought the shotgun for Kurt Cobain, which he used to commit suicide with... apparently. 


This album is one of the most sincere and emotionally charged rides on a very slow roller coaster you will ever have! It takes great talent to create something this complex and this slow at the same time. Many bands can boast with technical ability and push the limits of speed and technique, but Earth have something else and very sinister. They mould music and sound into an almost ethereal experience, a journey of the soul, taking you places you will love and fear. Be ready to be shaken to the core by a brooding underground tremor of power.


Join them on Myspace and listen, http://www.myspace.com/earthofficial


Want it?

We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls

We Were Promised Jetpacks. By far one of the most original and coolest names for a band... ever! It takes me back to the early 90's and reminds me of the movie called The Rocketeer, feeding a desire that has been haunting man for forever... flight.


When the album starts with It's Thunder and It's Lightning you can't help but stop what you are doing, and listen. Once the vocals start during the triumphant build-up one very apparent fact does pop into your head, these guys are Scottish, very Scottish, and they know exactly how to grab a listener and suck them into a wall of Indie Rock majesty!


We Were Promised Jetpacks are from Scotland, with their roots in Edinburgh. Started by four friends from school in 2003, their first gig was the school's Battle of the Bands competition, which they won. The perfect boost to any band's morale I would say. After school they moved to Glasgow to try their hand at the bigger clubs. And now that they were all above the legal drinking age they could get into, and play in many of the finer drinking establishments in Scotland, the ones where they do check the age of their patrons.  Now they are proving their worth and have toured all over the world, making a name for themselves, and well deserving too.


I am a huge fan of Indie music, the sound, the feeling the memories, it really does invoke a certain spirit in me. One that lives in a smoke-filled, questionable clubs with sticky floors, cheap drinks and easy temptations. But you someone always had a great time, an usually you remember the music and the bands who played, if nothing else. We Were Promised Jetpacks tick all the right boxes for a really class act, many Indie do fade away into obscurity, or just get lost in the back room of the iffy nightclub. But I firmly believe We Were Promised Jetpacks are here to say, they remind me of a younger Biffy Clyro, but are in no way in their shadow. These boys have their own sound and will gain their own successes. Not that I wouldn't want to see them tour together, think they could be a great compliment to each other.


We Were Promised Jetpacks have arrived and I here to stay, and if the members get a chance to read this little blog of mine, then I can say I really look forward to the next album, and will be getting hold of the new EP as soon as possible.


Want it?
Local South African buyers will need to hassle Musica/Look & Listen for this one too. But people do need to hear about this band. So I will be doing everything I can with my personal contacts to get this on our shelves locally!


Otherwise there is the option of Amazon, and don't fret about the new shipping costs to SA. Have2Have.co.za has a solution, www.have2have.co.za


Additional reading:
We Were Promised Jetpacks' page on Fat Cat

Roll Up Your Sleeves Music Video

www.comfortcomes.com Interview

Skalpel - Skalpel

Hi there everyone, time for my second review. With these reviews I will try and keep a balance between more mainstream  and more unknown music, this means that this review will be for something a little more obscure. And not only will it be something obscure, but the first in a series of reviews of all the albums of this particular duo.

Skalpel are a Nu Jazz DJ duo from Poland consisting of Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudlo and have an extremely amazing and unique sounds in a genre that is sometimes very hard to label...


Let me start at the beginning, I love Jazz with a passion than can be described as borderline addict, and one thing I have learnt from my adventures n finding Jazz I truly enjoy, is just how incredibly diverse it is. And this is before you factor in all the nu-jazz, namely Acid Jazz, Trip Hop, Jazz Fusion, Free Funk, Jazz Rap and the list goes on. For me personally there are two genres of Nu Jazz that has my interest, Acid Jazz and Trip Hop, which I guess in all honesty is the same thing. One refers obviously to Jazz that has a feeling you just dropped acid, and the the other is Hip Hop you listen to while high... so technically some form of chemical or natural conductor was at play here. Because breaks and beats form the basis of both these genres, and the source of these beats are normally from Hip Hop. Although Trip Hop does have a more present Hip Hop sound, while Acid Jazz a more well, Jazz sound. This is very much a generalisation but it's my blog, and I can get away with it! ^_^ 


And don't worry this is all leading up to my Skalpel review, I just feel it is my duty to explain the genre a little before just jumping in there. From this point on I will refer to only Acid Jazz to keep things simple. 


Acid Jazz has a very special place on my playlist, and it is something that works for almost all of my musical moods. Not many of friends appreciate it as much as I do but luckily it works just as well while on the couch with my headphones on. It is very complex and yet very simple at the same time, something makes no sense at all but listen to it and you will hear.


The Acid Jazz artists who rely on their turntables would blend together modern Beats with old Jazz, or the other way around, and sometimes just make it even harder to explain just old or new music. DJ's have complete free expression to use any method and source they feel like to create the music. In the case of live bands who play Acid Jazz, Portishead as an example, thing become very interesting and take a life of their own... but that will be a review down the road.


Back to Skalpel, the album I am making reference to in this review was their first full-length album, called Skalpel. It a very classic example of Acid Jazz, and the beautiful fusion of modern beats with 60's and 70's Polish Jazz. Using original Polish Jazz does set Skalpel apart from many other similar acts. Jazz has flourished in Poland since the fall of Communism and Dave Brubeck visiting the country in 1958 gave a nation Cool Jazz. So since then Jazz has has a very dynamic following in Poland. Tie together a nation that has a very turbulent and complex history with everything the modern world and technology can offer, and a younger generation hungry for the world. You end up with some incredibly talented acts coming from Poland. A few of which I will feature on my blog. 


By now you should be getting the idea that I can dwell for some time on Acid Jazz and in particular Skalpel, and with just cause. They are a class act delivering incredible compelling and sexy lo-fi beats that would be more than comfortable being played in the most chic of Paris nightclubs. Start listening to the album and you wouldn't even noticed if it was on repeat, the music is so soulful and easy to get lost in. Unless you have the vinyl version of the album, in that case you will notice when it is done and will very quickly flip it over to be played again and again. 


This is the genre and artist for a very specific group of people, the new generation of intellectuals. People who don't like the idea of society creating little boxes for us to fit in, who do as much as they can to confuse the rest of the world by having incredibly diverse taste and who relish in as much as the world can offer them.


So please support these amazing artists and enjoy the music. I think the biggest thing I want from the blog is for people to explore music they wouldn't normally listen to, or come across. Music is such an important aspect of life, and therefore not something we should take for granted. So in many ways it is our duty to keep a ear to the ground and listen, while opening our minds and thinking for ourselves.


Want it?

Here in South Africa this is something that requires a bit of patience to get hold of, but apart from hassling Musica and other chainstores to get hold of it, you can always try Mabu Vinyl here in Cape Town. An incredible shop for all your music needs.


The other option is buying directly from Ninja Tune and then you can also explore their exceptional collection of music, many of which will still be reviewed on this site.

Notes From The Geek Show: Indie vs Hollywood

Not a review I know, but something I feel very strongly about and had to share.

Notes From The Geek Show: Indie vs Hollywood

The Airborne Toxic Event - The Airborne Toxic Event

So here goes for the first review on my blog, I'll be doing something different with the reviews, giving backgrounds of the artists, comparisons, musical impressions and a final thought. Also I will add the info if want to get your hands on the album.

A friend of mine introduced me to The Airborne Toxic Event, and I was instantly a fan when I started listening to them.
The Airborne Toxic Event are Mikel Jollett (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Chen (guitar, keyboards), Noah Harmon (bass), Daren Taylor (drums) and Anna Bulbrook (viola, keyboards, tambourine, backing vocals), they were formed in 2006 and hail from Los Feliz, Los Angeles. As many other bands from LA they had their start in the local club scene and used MySpace extensively to market themselves, very soon Rolling Stone magazine listed them as one of the Top 25 Bands on MySpace. Shortly after they were dubbed as one of the top three LA bands to watch in 2008 by the LA Times. Even as an unsigned band the song "Sometimes Around Midnight" was added to the playlist of some of the most well-known and respected radio stations in LA, Indie 103, KYSR and the much-loved KROQ. With a firm following in the greater Los Angeles area the rest of America started to notice this wonderful sensation, with an appearance on Last Call with Carson Daly on NBC and numerous radio stations adding them to the playlist. Very soon the world sat up and noticed, crowds in the UK, Europe and Asia have been entertained and rocked to the core by this dynamic group.
The Airborne Toxic Event have a very unique and incredible sound, with hints of many influences and other artists. For me personally it is a constant jump between the likes of Arcade Fire, Interpol, Silversun Pickups, Editors, OK Go and Hot Hot Heat. Dare I even say The Clash... but more than sounding like all these bands jumbled up together Toxic Event have a very unique, clean and pure Rock sound which is blended very well with great electronic backdrops and string instruments.

So to sum it up, a fantastic vocal performance, memorable lyrics, well crafted hooks and masterful instrumentation. All neatly tied together in a package that is very well produced and will work as roadtrip music just as easily as it would for a braai or random social encounter. I sometimes just put it on while relaxing on the couch or bed. Music that will put a smile on your face and make you play the drums on any surface you happen to have close by.

Highly recommended!

Want it?

The Toxic Airborne Event Amazon Store

Toxic Airborne Event @ Musica

Additional reading

Official website

WikiPedia

Absolutepunk.net Review

The Guardian Review

Explorations in music

Hello World!

Welcome to my contribution in the great, big blogosphere. ^_^

I am Charl, from South Africa, living in the incredible city of Cape Town. I'm in my late 20's pushing to my 30's and decided it is time to join the revolution and have my own little platform to shout from online.

Music has always been an absolute love of mine, and finding new music and exploring genres that don't fall into the socially accepted norm one of you fixes. So without going into too much detail about who I am and what I do, let me rather just focus on the music for now.

This blog will cover reviews from my ever-expanding personal collection of music, I will use it to try and help anyone expand their musical boundaries with some amazing music that I love dearly. In the reviews I will try and relate elements from the music to more popular artists and songs just to make a little more accessible. Well I will try at least. hehe

I hope everyone will enjoy this little journey with me, feel free to ask me anything and post comments at will.
"Without music life would be a mistake." ~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche