S / S / S - Beak and Claw

So, while I was hiding under a rock somewhere, apparently some shit had went down. Anticon released this 4 song EP from S/S/S, a 'supergroup' comprised of songwriter Sufjan Stevens, and Anticon's Seregeti and Son Lux. The result is outer space. Serengeti's clever wordplay and sweet rhymes, Sufjan's sweet croon and harmonies, and Son Lux with the ambient pads and head-noddic beats... and there may or may not be some autotune. Appearances by Doseone and My Brightest Diamond. I don't even need to write much more about this. If you like Anticon, you'll like this. If you have heard of any of these 3 dudes before, check this out. Here's the link and a sample:

S/S/S - Beak and Claw

Sianspheric

Sianspheric are a lesser known Canadian shoegaze/space rock/dreampop band from the Sonic Unyon roster. These dudes cover quite a bit of musical ground; sleepy and sprawling to determined and energetic, and always with plenty of fuzz, delay, and reverb. ESSENTIAL for any fans of Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver... Great memories of DXM-land to these records, which means I urge you to get a little squirrely while your jammin' it. Here's the 3 full lengths. I recommend The Sound of the Colour of the Sun the most, but all three records are amazing.
 
Somnium - 1995
There's Always Someplace You'd Rather Be - 1998
The Sound of the Colour of the Sun - 2001

This song is from Somnium:

Wolves In The Throne Room

 

I almost feel bad for not writing a legit description in my own words, but I'm just not feelin' it right now. So next best thing is to just give you the write up off of Southern Lord records' site. Besides, if you are into black metal, you should already know about these guys and their unique approach to the genre, combining a traditional black metal sound with shoegaze and lots of atmosphere with an eye toward eco-conscious themes.

From Southern Lord:
"During the Summer of 2002 at an Earth First rendezvous in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, guitarist Nathan Weaver was inspired to create a band that merged a Cascadian eco-spiritual awareness with the misanthropic Norwegian eruptions of the 90's. The band envisioned would strive to create a mythic space where artist and listener alike could strip away the mindset of the mundane to reveal a more ancient and transcendent consciousness. The mysterious and wild energies of the untrammeled forests of the Northwest would be channeled into sonic form.

In the Spring of 2004, Nathan and his brother, drummer Aaron Weaver, moved to a dilapidated farmstead on the outskirts of Olympia, WA. The creation of their farm-stronghold, called Calliope, would be intrinsically linked to the development of Wolves in the Throne Room. It was during the first long, dark winter living in the collapsed farmhouse at Calliope that the band developed their trance-inducing sound and solidified the burning intent that would animate the band's music. Elements of black metal, crust punk, folk music, thrash metal and drone music were drawn upon to create a unique alchemy.

Since that time Wolves in the Throne Room have ascended to the upper tiers of the underground scene by creating a transformative and apocalyptic musical manifestation that has come to completely transcend the black metal label.

Wolves in the Throne Room's first studio album, the lush and atmospheric Diadem of 12 Stars (A Shimmering Radiance), was released in the Spring of 2006. This gloriously sprawling record was captured on tape by Tim Green at Louder Studios in San Francisco. Diadem was very well received and quickly established a cult following. Wolves in the Throne Room was heralded by the press as one of the most promising Black Metal bands to emerge from the United States, though the band stressed in interviews that they felt like they had little in common with their more Satanic peers.

The fall of 2006 brought a new pact with Southern Lord records and the beginning of a relationship with producer-engineer Randall Dunn. (SUNN O))), Earth, Grails) Their epic album Two Hunters is a masterfully dark and emotional document that further established Wolves in the Throne Room as a band totally unafraid to follow their own path. 

In January they will release a European tour-only EP picture disk, titled Malevolent Grain, on Conspiracy Records. The record is the first to feature their new guitar player Will Lindsay (Middian) who had previously served as the band's touring bass player. 

Winter Solstice 2008 saw the completion of their 3rd studio album, cryptically titled Black Cascade. Recorded onto 2 inch tape and mixed on a 1973 Neve Console by Producer Randall Dunn, this monolith of trance inducing psychedelia swings between passages of blazing crystalline blackness and ocean-deep ritualistic dronescapes. Black Cascade elevates Wolves in the Throne Room into the ranks of the elite in the extreme music world."

Demo 2004

Demo 2005

Diadem of 12 Stars (2006)

Two Hunters (2007)

Malevolent Grain EP (2009)

Black Cascade (2009)

Live at Roadburn (2009)

American Gods - Chariot The Ghost

American Gods are some really good dudes, originally out of Memphis, TN, who play a rad style of shoegaze, heavy and hazy. Considerably more imaginative than your standard My Bloody Valentine clone, American Gods take it to a higher level, creating a sonic barrage of 3 guitars, blending perfectly, never treading each others territory, and driving, inventive drumming. These guys are a definite standout, holding dear all things that came before them and refracting those influences through their own unique lens. Check 'em out. Dig it. Buy their shit.


American Gods - Chariot The Ghost

La Cacahouette - French for Peanut

Pronounced La Kah-Koo-Wet, and as the record name implies, it is French for 'peanut'.

Had the pleasure of playing a few shows with these guys a couple years ago, and they are not only awesome dudes, but their music is really unique. A true embodiment of the power trio, they make use of the standard guitar, bass and drums, but also fill up sonic space using keyboards, theremin and lots of reverb, delay, phasers, and fuzz on all of the above. Taking cues from bands such as Swervedriver and My Bloody Valentine, La Cacahouette lays down a thick, psychedelic layer of spacey shoegaze, slathered in loud and fuzzy indie rock, topped with beautiful male and female vocals, and highlighted immensely by the intense and creative drumming of Blake Ellman (who I've seen wearing Tragedy shirts, and believe it or not, the hardcore and metal influences shine quite brightly in his drumming for this band. Also, La Cacahouette's myspace used to rock an excellent photoshopped promo photo of them with King Diamond in the band!) If you ever see these guys in a town near you, go check them out. They are a great band, and some truly down dudes.

La Cacahouette - French For Peanut

13 & God

13 & God is a collaboration between Anticon's Themselves (featuring Doseone and Jel) and German indie-tronica band The Notwist. The result is an overall very chill record, sprinkled with Doseone's famous fast-rap and lots of Notwist's blend of spacey vocals and shoegaze influence. This is definitely one of those records that is really hard to describe, as they cover a lot of ground as far as influences, so here is a sample, with the link to download below. Hope you dig it.



13 & God - 13 & God

cLOUDDEAD

Looking for the above picture, I came across an article that described cLOUDDEAD as a supergroup in reverse. I found that to, actually, be pretty accurate. Though no one in the group is a superstar, these respective dudes have gained notoriety in the underground music scene, collaborating with such names as Mike Patton and Aesop Rock, being remixed by Notwist and Boards of Canada, and even getting a performance on the legendary John Peel show. As 3 of the 9 founders of the Anticon collective, Clouddead (comprised of Doseone and Why? doing the rapping, and sharing production duties with Odd Nosdam on the beats) makes the most inexplicable avant garde, spacey, sometimes absurdist hip hop you'll ever hear.

After the split of Clouddead, all the members went on to have lots of projects:

Doseone went on to form art-rock-hip-hop band Subtle (who will eventually surface on this blog), as well as joining with The Notwist to form a unique electro-space-rap project called 13 & God (which will be posted next).

 Why? joined with his brother Josiah and two really close friends from home and started a band which took on the name of Why?. One of their records is posted here with more to come soon.

Odd Nosdam continues to put out head-noddic hip-hop beats, lots of remixes, and even releasing a mixtape titled T.I.M.E (This Is My Element) for Element skateboards, as well as DJing many clubs and bars in the Oakland area.

Clouddead (2001)
Ten (2004)

Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs

So here is another personal favorite I've been holding out on for a little while. Amesoeurs is a French atmospheric black metal band with heavy post-punk and shoegaze influence, formed with the purpose of creating music that reflects the dark side of the industrial era and modern civilization.. Male and female vocals, sometimes clean, sometimes screaming, sometimes just gibberish and vocal noises ran through lots of psychedelic effects. These guys put out 2 short EPs, then this one full-length and broke up when the 2 singers (who were dating at the time) started having relationship trouble. Damn shame broken hearts gotta come in and ruin some truly unique and well crafted music. Even if black metal ain't your thing, you may dig this record, so give it a shot.

Blackened Spacegaze

Low Discography

I already did a small blurb on Low a few posts back, but in case you missed it:


In 1993, when grunge and post-punk ruled the masses, the slowcore/shoegaze scene was gradually churning and collecting velocity. My Bloody Valentine and Ride had found their way into hipster's tape players, and in little ol' Duluth, Minnesota, Low was also starting to think similarly. Singer/guitarist Alan Sparhawk and his wife, drummer Mimi Parker, joined with one of Alan's previous band mates, John Nichols to create a very quiet, minimal music that still demanded attention, without being fast, loud and aggressive. And since Low's first release in 1994, they've been building layer after layer upon that idea. Low has evolved considerably from the very quiet and solemn debut, I Could Live In Hope, but with each album they seem to explore a slightly different side of themselves. Every record however shares the common thread of Sparhawk and Parker's amazing vocal harmonies. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes haunting, their vocal blend is always interesting. You'll find that Parker often sings the lower register of a harmony, with her husband singing the higher parts of the harmony in a beautiful almost-falsetto.

Don't wanna get too pretentious here, so I'll leave it at what I wrote there, but PLEASE don't pass over this. This is one of my personal favorite bands of all time. Here is one of my favorite Low songs, although their sounds varies widely, maybe it will pique your interest in getting these records.



I Could Live In Hope (1994)
Long Division (1995)
The Curtain Hits The Cast (1996)
Secret Name (1999)
Christmas EP (1999)
Things We Lost In The Fire (2001)
Trust (2002)
The Great Destroyer (2005)
Drums and Guns (2007)
C'mon (2011)

You may also be interested in Alan Sparhawk's blues band ('blues' in it's truest form, we're talking Mississippi juke joint style) Black Eyed Snakes.

Enjoy.

Low - 'Trust' and 'The Great Destroyer'

Hmmmmm...where to start with Low.....

In 1993, when grunge and post-punk ruled the masses, the slowcore/shoegaze scene was gradually churning and collecting velocity. My Bloody Valentine and Ride had found their way into hipster's tape players, and in little ol' Duluth, Minnesota, Low was also starting to think similarly. Singer/guitarist Alan Sparhawk and his wife, drummer Mimi Parker, joined with one of Alan's previous band mates, John Nichols to create a very quiet, minimal music that still demanded attention, without being fast, loud and aggressive. And since Low's first release in 1994, they've been building layer after layer upon that idea. Low has evolved considerably from the very quiet and solemn debut, I Could Live In Hope, but with each album they seem to explore a slightly different side of themselves. Every record however shares the common thread of Sparhawk and Parker's amazing vocal harmonies. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes haunting, their vocal blend is always interesting. You'll find that Parker often sings the lower register of a harmony, with her husband singing the higher parts of the harmony in a beautiful almost-falsetto.

Low has a bunch of records, and I'll probably eventually post them all, including their newest record, set to be released next month (April 2011). Until then, here are two records for you to dive right in.

Low - Trust (2001)
Low - The Great Destroyer (2005)

Sparklehorse - Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot

Another one for Wong. Sparklehorse was mainly a guy named Mark Linkous. This 1995 record was his debut as Sparklehorse and paved way for his ever changing style to start permeating the indie scene. The music is kinda all over the place; a strangely appealing mix of dream-pop, alt-country and soundscape. Constantly overdosing on one substance or another, this dude was a master of taking drugs to make music to take drugs to. If that's not reason enough to get this record, then I don't know what to tell ya!

Click link, smoke bowl, then listen.