Boomkat – new RED HORSE, MARIA MINERVA, ISIDORE DUCASSE, etc.

*Cotton Goods and The Boats luminary Andrew Hargreaves returns with a beautiful, hand-assembled album – only 200 copies for the world* Tape Loop Orchestra is possibly the most moving and introspective alias adopted by Andrew Hargreaves, best known for his work as one half of The Boats, and for a gorgeous release on the bespoke Cotton Goods imprint. We first met this sound on the scarce ‘1953 Culture Festival’ release a few years back, an album steeped in creaking strings, seasoned electronics and the intoxicating, omnipresent muffle and hiss of analogue tape noise. But while those memes have become overly blatant signifiers of melancholy and loneliness in the hands of so, so many bland-handed composers, they still feel gorgeously supernatural and genuinely fragile in Andrew’s hands. A lot can happen in two years and there’s the sense that since the previous outing with his imaginary ensemble, ‘Maybe I Told A Small Lie’ expresses a far more tangible heartache than before, yet without resorting to any overblown statements. It’s just a more subtle feeling, like meeting an old friend and sensing that since you last saw them, something undisclosed, you’re not quite sure what, has affected them greatly and perhaps not for the best. That might not be an ideal situation, but when those feelings are channelled into music, the impact is nothing short of moving, triggering deep rooted sensations of empathy and emotional catharsis that might be hard to deal with on a casual listen. It’s the sort of album which should be reserved for those times when you just need to be immersed in music that reflects exactly what you’re feeling. Bloody hell, that’s probably all a bit heavy sounding, but trust us, you’ll get what we’re on about. A massive recommendation.

Boston’s Red Horse duo make an insanely dynamic and visceral cacophony on their second eponymous LP (not to be confused with their first – which is also self-titled). From the strength of their 1st album, 2009’s identically titled but more lo-fi effort on R.E.L, they’ve earned justifiable comparisons with Norwegian post-everything titans Supersilent and Jazkamer, and now thanks to detailed engineering assistance from Raul Rosa and mastering by Hospital Audio’s Kris Lapke, their sound here is every bit as engaging as those frames of reference imply. It’s part free-jazz and part backyard sound art, fusing the hyperkinetic, hit-everything-in-sight percussion of Eli Keszler with the automated and electrified string sculptures of Steve Pyne, striking a fine balance of unbound rhythm and uniquely dissonant tonalities which you simply wouldn’t find from a more conventional set-up. But make no mistake, this is no basic freakout; the duo’s steely grasp of their instruments and taste for intensity is balanced with a finely tuned quiet/loud sensibility, and when they do go quiet it’s that much more enveloping and head-wrenching. Over the last few years the duo have gained a cult status in their locale which has slowly spread beyond its perimeters, and while it’s unlikely they’re ever going to become stadium superstars, an instinctive control and mastery of their homebuilt instrumental arsenal ensures interest will continue to grow. Cut at Dubplates & Mastering and intended to be played as LOUD as you can take it. Recommended.

Killer collaboration between two revered programmer/composers, “A spontaneous, oddly rhythmic, slightly twisted summer storm of a hit.” These two eleven minute+ tracks occurred during Mark Fell’s visit to Vienna in june of 2011 and captures the two masterminds in playfully freeform but groovesome mode. Clocking in at just under 14 minutes, ‘Kubu’ is a rare instance of Mark Fell on a track with “live” sounding drums, tumbling in jazzy, motorik syncopation around abstract, kneaded electronics and what sounds like Radio 4 playing in the background. ‘Zikir’ again works with brushed, jazz like percussion evolving into crisp machine rhythms, but this time foregrounded against morphing digital sheet rain and odd, groaning tones for heady, pressurised effect. These won’t last long, do be quick.

Over the course of a 12″, cassette, and a stream of ace youtube vids, Maria Minerva has emerged as one of the most interesting artistes to come into leftfield-pop focus over the last 12 months. ‘Cabaret Cixous’ is her debut album, a coruscating water-bed of mottled ’90s dance-pop memes writhing under blankets of slyly sexy new age synths while her dreamy vocals whisper and croon seductively suggestive lyrics. It’s not quite aural soft porn, but there’s an inescapably lascivious element to her music which definitely has its appeal and marks her out with more teeth and enigmatic confidence than, say, Nite Jewel, with whom she’s often compared. Musically, her references span deep House to the Euro-pop she absorbed growing up living in Tallinn, Estonia, but all bleached with that straight-to-tape aesthetic so loved by NNF and Jim Ferraro et al, while lyrically and conceptually the album’s title invokes French feminist theorist Hélène Cixous and her songwriting is both visceral and solipsistically dreamy. It’s a richly satisfying and highly recommended listen.

*Gargantuan/Heavyweight and strictly limited 4LP box set featuring previously unreleased, rare and new music from Sonic Youth, Sun City Girls, Bardo Pond, Comets on Fire, Eternal Tapestry, Steve Gunn, Mouthus, D. Charles Speer & the Helix and Wooden Wand* “Early in 2000, Three Lobed Recordings was born out of the notion that there needed to be a 10″ EP included within Bardo Pond’s discography. Late in 2009, with the label’s looming tenth anniversary on the horizon, the label decided that it was time to take the curatorial enjoyment that resulted in its three multi-disc subscription CD series (Purposeful Availment, Modern Containment and Oscillation III) and transfer that spirit over to the vinyl format. Rather than do this as a series, Three Lobed decided it would be a lot more fun, efficient, and economical to put the project out as a one-shot box set. From that notion came the dream-team lineup of artists who were also interested in helping assemble this project – Sonic Youth, Sun City Girls, Bardo Pond, Comets on Fire, Eternal Tapestry, Steve Gunn, Mouthus, D. Charles Speer & the Helix and Wooden Wand. Think back to the wonder the first time you were sucked into the epic sprawl of such seminal collections as Harmony Of The Spheres and By The Fruits You Shall Know The Roots. It’s been several years since one of these time capsules has been created to document the various phases, shapes and sizes of the modern underground psychedelic scene – this box is intended to help fill that void. Much like how various label predecessors have shaped their epic compilations into lovingly assembled and presented artifacts, the Three Lobed vision of Not The Spaces You Know, But Between Them is bold and brash. Three Lobed wants this set to both stand as the single coolest title within the label’s catalog and to also be a device to help introduce some new listeners to the various ways psychedelic music is presented in 2011. Each artist’s contribution to this set stands alongside the best that artist has previously placed within their respective discographies, almost as if each artist is trying to set the bar even higher for their fellow contributors to the set. From newly composed and well honed tracks (like Steve Gunn’s contribution, “The Lurker (Extended)”), historically important recordings (the entire Sun City Girls side presents a glimpse of the band’s final show in the United States) all the way to how-the-hell-has-this-been-hidden-for-the-world-for-so-long gems (such as Sonic Youth’s “Out & In” which was recorded in 2000 with Jim O’Rourke).”

Extremely limited first vinyl issue of MSV’s (limited to 100 copies) early CDr from 2010. ‘Second Coming’ bears all the hallmarks of W*tch House, from foggy sonic aesthetic to the DIY artwork but the production values are overall reassuringly upped for this issue. We enter their phantasm to the etheric cluster of FX-f*ckery on ‘Welcome To The Witch House’ featuring Shazzula, and wade through the the sludgy, screwed beats of ‘The Witch House Of Hansel And Gretel’. Flipside its time for the paled Salem-esque ‘Exorcism Of The Hippies’, a passage of French-vocalled Goth-beats on ‘Reincarnation Of Baba Yaga’ and the lonely bedroom expanse of Escape From The Witch House’. Get in while you can…

*Edition of 500. Pressed on 140g vinyl* Beautiful album of evocative, scapey drones and acoustic reflections from Root Strata head Jefre Cantu-Ledesma together with his Tarentel and Moholy-Nagy bandmate, William Trevor Montgomery. They conceived the Isidore Ducasse mantle when tasked with writing the soundtrack for a Western, but the film was unfortunately scrapped. You’ll basically have to fill in the imagery yourself, but that shouldn’t be so hard because this is some richly evocative material. It captures the vibe of endless plains, rocky outcrops and rusty widescreen sunsets perfectly, closely recalling the molasses distrotion blooms of Earth or Barn Owl down to every drawn out note or wistful strum, and not least track titles such as ‘Fever Has Overtaken This Frail Frame’ or Here Lies A Youth Who Died Of Cinsumption’. That’s not to say it’s copycat material, it’s just cut from very similar and dusty cloth, with a particularly parched and melancholy feel. And unlike the aforementioned, the tracks are relatively brief and vignette-like, accordingly arranged to scene lengths and moods, ranging from brief, porch-side acoustic strums, to more slow breathing, panoramic drone vistas and even passages of more folksy, slightly neo-classical themes.

Lunice ain’t the most prolific producer out there, but in his corner of the field, he’s one of the finest. Following last year’s solo debut ‘Stacker Upper’ EP, he returns to LuckyMe with the bolder, more substantial ‘One Hunned’ EP to work a slicker, leaner, and better rendered sound. Like Hud Mo and Rustie, he’s well enamoured with the debonaire style of late ’80s/early ’90s R&B and New Jack Swing, but has his ears firmly on a 2011 sound. Those influences are most overt in the Hollywood chords of ‘Glow’ and ‘Juice’ or the soul blown chops of ‘And She Said’, but it’s the centripetal drum diffusions and dance-enhancing edit slickness of each cut that lets you know what time it really is. Best of all is the wily sparsity of ‘I See U’, turning out iced stabs and club-slaying synth drops like a pro. Highly recommended.

**Translucent Blue Vinyl** Slick, skippin’ Techno from Shifted in his Pacific Blue guise. In contrast with the cold mechanics of his recent Mote Evolver release, ‘Industry Part 1 & 2’ operate on a more dextrous, syncopated and chord driven pivot. Part 1 reminds of the Raíz killer for Historia y Violencia, all layered and latinized 909 shimmies with wickedly bumpy kicks, whereas Part 2 shuffles the patterns to spring off crisp claps for the dancers. Highly effective and well tipped – don’t miss.

Matt Cutler’s druggy, pitch-bent productions are generally guaranteed to give us the tingle, and ‘All Those Weird Things’ is no different. Against a backdrop of tough, pared-down 4/4, our boy just runs riot with ravey chords that are as hard to follow as the narrative of a big night on ’89-strength E; they seem to fold in on, out of and around themselves in a way that defies audio logic, but without once compromising the track’s melody and momentum. We can only imagine what havoc it’s going to be reaking in clubs this year, especially when the brazen synth-shredding kicks in at 3:40. Honestly, this is just an absolute belter, and once you wrap your ears around it you’ll find it hard to get your wonk on to anything else.

Butterz assert their status as the world’s pre-eminent Grime label with arguably their biggest release to date. ‘I Am’ is also one of Trim’s best cuts to date, showcasing a honest maturity and lyrical craft that his fans have always been aware of, and gives any naysayers no excuses now. It appears in three versions, riding TRC’s summer-vibin’ ‘Skippin’ Rope’ riddim on the orginal, next to a slightly tougher, snappier mix from rising star Preditah. Flipside there’s LV’s itchy, bouncing poly-style remix, plus the hi-Tech street funk of ‘Notice Now’ produced by Terror Danjah cohort, D.O.K. Tip!

BANG-jakkin’ Chi-House badness from the one and only Marcus Mixx! In case you don’t know, Marcus is an OG Chicago House don with serious credentials. He was counted among Ron Hardy’s notorious inner circle back in the day, and his records, including a collaboration with Wolfram, are regarded as total weapons by everyone from Tama Sumo to Jackmaster (natch). So, it’s something of a coup and perfectly indicative of the label’s brazen cheek that UTTU land these two killers upon us. First up ‘U Blow Girl (Mouth Mix)’ spanks raw-assed kicks and scrapping hi-hats against delirious vocal stabs for proper, psychotomimetic, wall-bucking results. Madder yet is the maniacal ‘Use Your Mouth 2 Luv Me (Teeth Mix)’, a raging, rugged gang-bang of distorted drum machines, skewed piano stabs, odd chorales and the vocal refrain “use your mouth, to love me” delivered in sinister, flanged form. Fans of Steve Poindexter, Jamal Moss, Aaron Carl et al will not be disappointed. Let’s go. TIP!!!