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Mademoiselle is a grimly-toned at times cruel, yet elegantly shot psychological drama from the mid-1960’s. The film touches on distrust of outsiders, smouldering mental illness under a cloak of normality, and kinky carnal desires. It’s certainly a difficult, at times unsettling film- due to both it’s moments of animal cruelty, and its focus on unpleasant human bigotry - but it’s very moodily shot, well-acted, and the feeling of unease-ness & grim passion drifts throughout the film like traces of oil on water. From the BFI here we have a dual format- Blu Ray & DVD release of the film, bringing togeather high & standard definition prints, a new commentary, and a few other extras.
Released in the early 1970s, and featuring two of Britain's iconic/ respected horror actors I, Monster is very much more of a grim, brooding & often low-key take on the Robert Louis Stevenson's gothic novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Here from Powerhouse Films is a recent region B Blu Ray of the film- offering a new scan of the picture, and a good selection of new & archive extras.
Norwegian based Sofa Music are on the cutting edge of releasing creative & distinctive improv/modern composition- and this new release from the wonderfully named Sheriffs Of Nothingness is another prime example of this. The project is a string duo that creating droning, angular, sawing-at-times intense improv with nature/ landscape theme.
Crafted with a love for both vintage, analog synthesizers and tarot, Western, Creed, Spybey's W ands (Phil Western, BEEHATCH; Jesse Creed, THE PASSENGER; Mark Spybey, BEEHATCH) is a view of the first six wand cards in a lush, synthesized soundscape. Posthumously released (Western, RIP), this evocative and engaging album unfolds very slowly, making the most of each moment and allowing the listener ample time to soak in all the sonic scenery. Drifting and droning, W ands is a perfect album to start anew, with a clean mind and see where it takes you, much like starting your journey through the wands suit in the tarot.
Teenage Hitchhikers is a kooky ‘n’ campy 1970’s road movie that brings together soft-core sex comedy, slap-stick humour, and cheeky con-artistry. It’s a largely light & fairly amusing romp- though some of the humour doesn’t quite hit- for example, rape will never be funny, and some of the cheeky slapstick gets a little tiring. Here from Dark Force Entertainment is recently released Blu Ray- bringing together a new HD print of the film, commentary track, and an on-camera interview.
Polymoon are a Finnish psychedelic rock band with surf inflected guitar twang and a striking loud/soft dynamic. Caterpillars of Creation, released on the famed Svart Records, is their debut album.
Released back in 1971 Samurai's self-titled debut album is grooving-to- bounding, at times downbeat example of jazz-rock songcraft, which features a sprinkling of more prog & off-kilter moments. Here from Esoteric Recordings- Cherry Red’s more prog-centric focused sub-label is a recent CD release of this album.
This is an interesting album, the first issuing of live recordings made in 1977 by the German Anima-Sound. I say interesting because it rewrites improv in my head (at least) and challenges my thoughts on improv as a genre. Non-idiomatic improvisation has come to suggest to me an academic, almost scientific disposition: the notion of a disciplined researcher committed to the pursuit of sound and technique, and nothing else. Anima-Sound, wife and husband duo Limpe and Paul Fuchs, have reminded me that this is not the only route into uncharted non-idiomatic territories.
A Wall of Text is a large format A4 zine focusing in on all things walled noise. This first issue runs twenty-four pages, and is color through-out with a great blend of interviews, articles, set-up chat, and wall noise-related art…and it really is something the scene has been needing for a long time.
1970 is the sixth release from Les Cauchemars Naissent La Nuit- one of the more recent & straight forward wall noise projects from respected French noise maker Julien Skrobek. It’s a self-released tape that appeared in July of this year taking in two fifteen-minute walls- one on each side of tape- with once again the focus/ theme of the release been Jess Franco’s dreamy & tripped-out exotic horror 1970’s Nightmares Come At Night.
Vitalina Varela is a 2019 arthouse film that ushers us into a universe of shadows,half-light, and darkness where it plays out a solemn & mysterious drama, that’s edged with metaphysical horror and grim gothic torches. It’s a film where real and non-real bound and at times blur, and where time it’s self seems to drift and at points almost grind to a halt. Here from Second Run is a recent region free Blu Ray of the film, taking in some worthy extras and an inlay booklet.
Mr. Fox were formed in 1970 by multi-instrumentalist Bob Pegg and his fiddle playing wife Carole Pegg (later Carolanne Pegg). They released two classic albums of eclectic 1970s acid folk music, both of which are collected here and both of which are now deemed masterpieces of the genre. On both albums the couple were backed by Alan Eden on drums and Barry Lyons on electric bass, also appearing on their self titled debut were Andrew Massey on cello and John Myatt on woodwind instruments.
Alejandro Jodorowsky is one of the cinemas great & distinctive auteurs- his films are laden down with own brand of surrealism, symbolism, and general wack-ness- with his output falling somewhere between exploitation & arthouse. So from watching just a few minutes of one of his productions you most certainly know you're watching a Jodorowsky film. Since the late 1950’s he’s directed just nine full-length production- but each of these has been very distinctive creations, and he’s never watered down or diluted his focus & output. Here from Arrow Video is a very much deserved new Blu Ray and CD box set celebrating the work of this true one-off- it takes in four of his films, and CD soundtracks for two his most infamous/ revered films, as well as a good selection of extras, a double-sided fold-out poster & six collector's postcards.
Annihilation is a brutal earth churning ‘n’ fire roasting slice of walled noise. The collaborative seventy five minute track brings together western Frances Bördel Noïr, and Croatia based Placenta Lyposuction- both project are sadly now no more, but this stands a nice statement of their joint intensity, and the blending of their own individual takes on wall-craft.
Spanish audio/video artist pioneer Iury Lech has been on the scene for over forty years. Continuing to expand on his electronic approach to sound art, his latest album, Ontonanology is a beat driven, pulsing piece of digital ambient. Focusing on the microscopic scale of the music itself, Iury hopes to bring these microcollisions and fluctuations to the forefront.
The Blank Tape Recording is the very welcome return of minimal, often taut, yet always engaging Swedish walled noise project Rien. Here from Brooklyn based Veil Tapes is a C90 tape- taking in two side-long examples of very stripped-back, but rewarding wall craft.
Appear in May of this year the creepily entitled I Must Keep A Certain Distance From My Subjects is the 5th release from The NIGHTproduct- one of the more moody textured noise projects from Pittsburgh based Sean E. Matzus. What we have here are two slices of active-yet- atmospheric wall craft that was created in real-time, with no edits, and minimal equipment – with body manipulation and movement been the main source for these two around fifteen minutes tracks.
Steins Pillar is a forty-minute example of buffeting ‘n’ battering walled noise- which has a decidedly gnarled, crude, and muffled feel to it’s unrelenting attack. The wonderful named Root Cellar are from Eugene, Oregon- they’ve been active since 2019, and thus far put out coming on for ten releases- with seeming all of these have been digital-only release- which this release is also, and it’s available from the project bandcamp
Live Suffer Die was a US/ Candain black metal duo bringing together Lance Gifford (guitar, drums), who died in 2019, and Lörd Matzigkeitus (vocals). A Voice From Beyond Death is their on & only release, and it appears as a CD album or digital download on cult US BM label Moribund Records.
From October last year here we have a CDR/ digital download split that focuses in on the more moody & atmospherically uneasy side of the US harsh noise scene. The release brings together Californian based Gorgonized Dorks with Pittsburgh based RJ Myato- the first offers up an around nine-minute dwell in noise unease, and the latter five shorter around two-minute tracks.
Indecent Exposure is a playful-at-times lightly humorous slice of 1980’s sleaze, featuring Robert Kerman Of Cannibal Holocaust fame. The film brings together well lit & classily filmed hardcore action, a good storyline that moves through drama and lo-key comedy- with some pretty good-to-great acting through-out. Here from Vinegar Syndrome, those miners of lost sleaze is a dual Blu Ray and DVD release of the film- bringing together the companies always great new scan, and a original trailer.
Gutterballs is a bowling alley set slasher that’s laddered with extreme 'n' perverse gore, loads of nudity- both male & female, 1980’s parody, and a mix of blacked humour & uneasy sleaze. Here from the folks over at Unearthed/MVD Visual is a recent Blu Ray release of the film, which features a director’s commentary & an alternative cut of the film.
I grew up in the 1980s and as a young 13-year-old boy I was drawn into the world of metal’s most extreme genre of the time, thrash metal. Initially, it was the spread of bootleg tapes, that changed my worldview from listening to Iron Maiden, Kiss, AC/DC, and Dio to something new, exciting and darker. I was handed a tape of Metallica recorded live at the Old Waldorf, and recommended to listen to their cover of Diamond Head’s "Am I Evil". One listen was enough to hook me in, I needed more, Exodus, Slayer, Anthrax, Overkill, Megadeth, Possessed, Kreator, Sodom, Destruction and a host of other bands followed. I’d found my place in the world of music.
West Meets East is a compilation focus in on how Indian music influenced music of the West be it jazz, classical, or easy listening fare. This three CD set from Cherry Red sub-label El brings together both original Indian music & the western music that it influenced, and over the three-disc set, it’s certainly a nicely varied and rewarding sonic journey.