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Recorded live at the Plaza in Houston, Texas on the 9th and 29th September 1999 This dual media set features 10 tracks from classic 70s Brit rockers, Foghat. This release from Cleopatra Records features an elegantly designed digipak rammed with band photos, posters and a brief history of the band, as well as the live video and audio recordings compiled from the two concerts at the Plaza.
Stopmotion is a British horror film from last year regarding a twenty-something stop-motion animator who is struggling after her overbearing mother is taken ill. It mixes a pervading sense of unease/disquiet, with ghoulish effects, grim fantasy traces, some effective moments of fear/ dread, and a good enough cast who sell the whole thing well enough. Here from Acorn Media International is a new Blu-ray release of the film- taking in a selection of extras.
Andrea De Witt is a seasoned traveler in both acoustics and electronic fields, having cut his teeth as a bass player in the 1990s, and later, moving into collaborative work with a host of electro-acoustic acts. I say this because the measured and deeply intentional way that the music on his first solo album develops over the course of its 12 tracks is the not the work of someone who is merely experimenting willy-nilly with synthesis. No, De Witt is like a semiotician, breaking down the component elements of his sounds, one by one. With the exception of two tracks titled, “PIANOCHROM”, the album is arranged according to dates.
Curva Triangulus is a decidedly warped ‘n’ wavering modern ensemble composition work. It shifts in & out of the harmonic & at points forlornly rising, and the nonharmonic & pitch-bent. As a piece, it feels akin to looking through a bowed, aged, and water-damaged book of paintings/ illusions- as you see equal beauty in both the original grand works and those that have run or warped.
Here’s a recent four-track album from Worship- the rather mysterious walled noise project, which often adds creative twists to its take on the genre. As well as theming all of their releases on celebrating the female form in a non-smutty manner.
This decidedly blunt and charmingly entitled release features a single-slice ruggedly rolling & tautly seared walled noise from this New Jersey’s Magda. The track slides in just under the nineteen-minute mark, providing an unforgiving & intense ride.
California technical death metal group The Last of Lucy have existed since 2007, but didn't release their first full-length until 2017. This was followed by Moksha in 2022, and now this latest epic, Godform.
While one may not picture Birmingham, Alabama as a hotbed of death metal activity, Black Hole Deity once again arises to shift the world's focus to this inconspicuous city. Coming three years after their very well-received EP, Lair of Xenolich, the foursome unleashes their debut full-length, Profane Geometry, via Everlasting Spew. Eschewing the traditional violence, evil, gore, satanism, etc, lyrical content of the genre, Black Hole Deity chose to take the sci-fi/supernatural horror approach with Profane Geometry, and the lyrical tone certainly matches the fun, engaging metal behind it. The end result is an old-school influenced, but forward take on modern death that moves at the perfect pace to enjoy every element while continuing to propel forward and not get self-indulgent.
The Man Who Haunted Himself is a taut, tense, and wholly compelling early 70’s psychological thriller/ mystery regarding a man who after a car crash has someone trying to steal his life- is it someone pretending to be him, is he losing his mind, or is something else afoot?. In its lead role, we have Roger Moore- most known for his role as James Bond- giving a career highlight performance as the troubled business executive, whose world is slowly but surely unfolding.
The McMasters is a US-produced racially focused western from the early 1970’s. It’s set just after the Civil War regarding an African American man returning from war to the small town where he grew up- finding largely prejudice and threat. It’s a mean-spirited if not particularly gritty & overtly brutal film featuring the likes of two Carrdine’s- David & his father John, and Jack Palance. Here from Cheezy Films is a region-free DVD release of the film.
Here's a double CD release with a comprehensive German language booklet featuring some of the heaviest German rock from between the years 1970-1976.
Extinct brings together the king of Japanese noise Merzbow and British electro-industrial collective Meat Beat Manifesto. The two-track album runs around the thirty five mark- and it finds seared, often dense noise-craft meeting jack-knifing, at points careering beat ‘n’ bass tones. Feeling like a more wild, unpredictable, and engaging take on the material found on Merzbeat and related albums.
“It felt like a remedy to some of the existential stress we were feeling during the time,” says songwriter, composer and producer Khari Lucas aka Contour and one half of Black Decelerant. “Simultaneously being in the height of lockdown and thinking about encroaching fascism and anti-Blackness, in the US especially, the making of the record felt very meditative and offered a dimension to ground us.” The urgency of the pandemic may have lifted, but the political and social necessity has not, and the duo’s reflections ring throughout Reflections Vol. 2: Black Decelerant - their jazz-driven sonic experimentation debut and the second in the RVNG Reflections series
Just for argument’s sake, there might exist a divide within the field recordings genre (assuming there is such a genre), between the ethnographic and the musical. In the first instance are those practitioners who chase the authenticity tail and try to bring their acoustic “discoveries” closer to those listeners who are at some remove from the source material. What else would merit a listen? This makes establishing any critical language around such work incredibly difficult, if not downright fatuous. In the latter category, on the other hand, are works like Pablo Discerns’ Turning Porous, an album full of in situ documentation and musical acumen.
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is a South Korean found footage film from the late 2010’s, regarding a group of internet ghost-hunters who hope to get lots of views/ hits from visiting said asylum, but get much more than they bargained for. Over the years there have been more than a few haunted asylum/ hospital films released- and I’d say this stands as one of the better additions to the genre- with a likeable/ believable enough cast, a neat location, subtle touches of humour, and some general chilling/ terror-inducing moments in the films last quarter. Here from Second Sight Films is a new reissue of the film- either in a Ltd edition with a seventy-page book & six art cards, or a standard Blu-Ray edition.
Here’s a two-CD set bringing together the first three 1980 albums of US funk/ R&B/ Soul artist Jesse Johnson, whose early work has a very Prince-like sound/feel- though he did start to step outside of this. Featured here are Jesse Johnson's Revue (1985), Shockadelica (1986), and Every Shade Of Love (1988) plus bonus tracks- which all first appeared on A&M Records.
Bitter Conclusion To A Frail Youth is a just over ten-minute example of searing ‘n’ rushing walled noise from this India-based project, which as far as I can gather is a relatively new venture.
Beads of Mercury is a recent slice of buffeting ‘n’ bothersome bass-bound walling from Berlin’s Sebastian Tomb. The release features just a single ten-minute track.
Time is a new two-track release from this highly prolific US wall noise, and I must say it’s somewhat of a departure. Both of the twenty-five-minute tracks sit more in the dense ambient/ almost formal ambient side of things.
Mute Witness is a mid-90s De Palma-like thriller- which is both rewardingly engaging and at points very tense. It regards a mute female effects artist working on a film in Russia- who believes she’s witnessed the filming of a snuff film. The film blends humour in with its trills & light horror tropes- this largely works, but on a few occasions it does tonally unbalance itself. Here from Arrow Video- both in the UK & stateside- is a new reissue of the film.
Nightsiren is an early 2020 Slovakian/ Czech production that attempts to blend light folk horror & mystery elements into a feminine lead small town drama. It’s certainly a well-shot affair, with an effectively captured woodland setting, as well as a largely decent enough cast, with subtle touches of moody/ lightly unease atmospherics. The thing is it’s more of a slow/drawn-out drama than anything else- it often plods, and at points downright drags. Here from the folks at UK’s Arrow Video is a Blu-Ray release of the film- taking in a commentary track, and a few other extras.
If one checks the intersection of dark ambient and industrial, Titanoboa's Seth will be proudly on display. Slithering forth like the massive serpent namesake, Seth mixes elements of dark and light, noise and quiet, war and peace. All these flavors mix together deftly to become a very solid and engaging whole, one that allows the listener to drift away into their own mind as well as being commanded to listen to stark, abrasive sounds.
From the late 70’s Blue Rita (aka Das Frauenhaus) is a pulpy ‘n’ fleshy spy film- with light touches of cheapy conceived sci-fi & horror. The film was directed by ultra-prolific Euro cult director Jess Franco. Here from the folks at Full Moon Features is a dual disc DVD & Blu-Ray release of the film- taking in a few extras.
A Knife In The Dark is a murder mystery set amongst a clan of bickering & back-stabbing vampires. The film is a recent production from one of the more (usually) distinctive modern low-budget horror/ sci-fi directors Oregon’s Joe Sherlock (Odd Noggins, Channel 99, Drifter, etc). His work normally features the following tropes- bizarre chatty dialogue, self-referential moments, Tattooed larger ladies taking showers, reappearing cast, and lo-fi-at-points-wacky effects. This film really is a major departure from Sherlock, being more of a dialogue-heavy mystery.