This band was just brought to my attention today and my first reaction (after about somewhere between 1 and 1.0001 seconds within hearing their stuff) was that I had to write about them.
I’m literally looking stuff up about them as we speak, but I think that it would be better if I just sort of let the videos do the talking. There are a bunch of live clips of Child Abuse playing at Death By Audio over the years. From what I can gather the situation we have here is that if you like Lightning Bolt, then you are going to love Child Abuse. Noisy, loud, distorted beyond seemingly all comprehension, unintelligible lyrics and more fierce energy than normal humans can muster in a week, right there on stage in moments.
There’s a pretty OK interview with them here where they discuss classifying their music as a hybrid of jazz and metal and “a bunch of other stuff. Everything really.” It does have elements of math-rock and thrash with the stop-start spasming of rhythm with the occasional quasi-blast beats coming forth nonchalantly from the drummer. To be honest, the entire band makes this music seem effortless, though this is not “easy” music, either to perform or to digest. Child Abuse is most certainly not making background music.
Obviously the most important thing is to listen to them. Their first album is available through Rococo Records.
Well, it might be too late for this now, but I sincerely hope that you heeded the warning at the beginning of the video, because they are not messing around. Oozing Wound wants to make sure that you are headbanging, even if that means it is the result of a seizure.
I’m placing this one right in between Slayer and Liturgy. More toward the Slayer side of things than anything else. For a few minutes at the beginning of the song I was wondering if it was going to be an instrumental or not. The band pummels that opening riff into the ground in a fit of metal hypnosis. It isn’t until about a minute-twenty in that the actual lead line/opening riff comes in, followed by the raspy, vocals that are clenched tight not very far behind.
Three full minutes of thrash metal insanity, going 900 mph straight toward a brick wall. Pretty intense. Pretty awesome. The ending motto is pretty classic too. Check it out above. If you aren’t awake now, you will be.
Chicago’s own Oozing Wound released their debut album, “Retrash,” last week on Thrill Jockey. Pick up a copy of the LP, pressed on virgin vinyl and packaged with a fully artworked inner sleeve and free download coupon; or the CD version in 4 panel mini-LP style gatefold package here. You can also hear a preview of each of the tracks at that link.
There is also a limited edition screen-printed LP version available at Permanent Records Chicago. Grab it while you can.
I understand that this album came out 5 months ago, but I also a.) don’t care and b.) think that this is not only her best album to date, but probably one of the best albums to be released so far this year.
There has been a constant and steady development across Marnie’s releases beginning with “In Advance of the Broken Arm” from 2007. That album was a great statement as a debut. The guitars were mindblowing, the melodies were catchy and the lyrics were deeply personal. That the album starts with a barrage of lightning fast guitar and Zach Hill’s bat-shit insane drumming set the tone for not only that release, but for Marnie’s sound as a whole.
With each album her overall sound has gotten tighter. The roughness in the production of earlier releases has been replaced with cleaner, more intricately layered guitar lines, with her voice alternating between the familiar highs with the increasing presence of more relaxed and effortless singing in her lower range. For example, on the track “Noonan,” we hear the line “don’t you wanna be somebody, don’t you want to be, don’t you wanna be somebody?” sung in the latter part of the song almost unaccompanied, save for a few dropped in guitar chords.
And, sticking with that song, it creates a good deal of space in the verses with different layers of guitars taking prominence, rising and falling in the mix. Marnie is in control of an entire ensemble of guitars. It no longer feels like the guitar tapping that she has been recognized for (and recognized for good reason) is felt to be the primary element of each of the songs.
Though, there is (immediately following “Noonan”) “Nothing is Easy,” that sounds a bit more like something that would be on an earlier release, but finding places to stretch out, once again. Some of the structures of earlier albums, like the terrific despite its blockiness “Roads? Where We’re Going We Don’t Need Roads,” from her album “This is it…” are abandoned for more standard verse-chorus fair. That is part of what makes this album sound all the more polished. It’s the tightening of these structures into more palatable forms that gives “Chronicles” a higher degree of accessibility.
There were always prog-ish elements to many earlier songs that explored tricky meter changes and several otherwise disconnected sections. And though these things worked well in those album, were interesting and part of the overall sound due in no small part to Hill’s drumming, the focus throughout “Chronicles” really shows what a great songwriter and vocalist Marnie can be. That is to say that a hint of prog remains, for example in “East Side Glory” and “Hell Yes,” but they hardly beg to be noticed, or take anything away from the overall cohesion of the track.
There does remain a degree of experimentation across this record. Stern is shown to be tooling more with the recording process, finding new ways to create textures with an array of different techniques, never relying too heavily upon one over another. As a result the album is more balanced. Perhaps this is partly a result of the departing of Zach Hill on drums, which are also, as a result, trimmed back a little bit. Again, this leaves not only a bit more space but also means that the songs don’t always feel the need to be super busy guitar vs. drums affairs. Songs are able to grow and take shape in much different ways.
Each previous release has pointed in this direction. There haven’t been any absolutely drastic changes in style from one album to the next, it’s just that with each album the elements that have always been present continue to grow and to be improved upon, while shedding a bit of the excess. On the surface the music still sounds and feels complex, but at its core this album is full of songs that are more stripped down but no doubt just as powerful as always.
As an added bonus, Marnie has released a new track for the previously mentioned Adult Swim compilation, “This Was It,” which can be heard below. As an added added bonus Kill Rock Stars has put all of Marnie’s albums on sale at her bandcamp page for $5 until the end of August. So head over there and download everything. There are also some upcoming tour dates throughout September that are posted below.
09/05 Raleigh NC Hopscotch Festival
09/09 Minnapolis MN Fineline (with DEERHUNTER)
09/10 Chicago IL Metro (with Deerhunter)
09/11 Cleveland OH Beachland Ballroom
09/12 Toronto ON Phoenix Concert Theatre with Deerhunter
09/13 Columbus OH Skully’s
09/16 Boston Ma Royale
09/20 Lexington KY Boomslang Festival
(Post originally appeared on Tympanogram on March 9, 2012)
I’m still beating myself up over the fact that I wasn’t able to turn out a review for the newest, and stunningly beautiful, Sharon Van Etten LP Tramp. She’s currently on tour, and the album has been getting deservedly rave reviews. If you have not checked it out yet here is the latest video for the song “Leonard.” Don’t let the seemingly upbeat guitar strumming fool you, this song is about heartbreak. Van Etten sings “he’s smart, he leaves me wanting more, knowing that I gave less and knowing why” and it becomes clear that nobody is the bad guy here, or perhaps they both are. She sings with a longing in her voice, delicately calling out “I love you,” and one could easily imagine her reaching out, hoping for him to turn around and reconsider. That the song ends melodically and harmonically unresolved gives us a sense that she’s still holding out hope.
It’s a beautiful song, and the video’s kaleidoscopic, mirrored imagery perhaps hints at the confusion felt on her part as she re-examines the entire relationship from every possible angle, which only results in more unresolved confusion.
Her tour will likely come to a city near you, as she has dates booked clear through the summer, though there appears to be a few gaps that will likely get filled in so check her tour page here. Tramp is out now on Jagjaguwar.
(Originally posted to Tympanogram on March 8, 2012)
Chad Vangaalen/Xiu Xiu split EP "The Green Corridor II"
Chad VanGaalen’s Diaper Island instantly earned a place on my list of favorite releases of 2011. Prior to that I was a fan of his work as producer/engineer of Flemish Eye labelmates Women. His brand of rambling, echoed, jangly folk/rock is unique and infectious and perhaps somewhat of an acquired taste. His voice trembles and his guitar playing has all the sloppiness of punk rock, but, for me at least, it’s that fiercely unique sound-representative, no doubt, of his equally fierce independence – that draws me in closer.
Apparently Mr. VanGaalen doesn’t stop creating. Ever. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when I more or less accidentally happened upon this 10-track split EP with the über-arty Xiu Xiu, but I definitely was. Coming across this was a welcome surprise. I’m not exactly sure how to get a physical copy of it, though the Altin Village website is a good place to start.
The 9 VanGaalen tracks are plenty to keep any fan satisfied for some time. From the straight ahead stomp of “I Want You Back” the strangely poppy scratch and jangle of “Kiss Kiss Kiss” the buzzsaw thrash of “Nothing is Impossible” and the lazy country drawl of “Weighed Sin” this isn’t a set of 9 throw away tracks haphazardly tossed off for some strange release, this is a collection of songs that showcases VanGaalen’s dynamic, unique and wide ranging sound. Release of the split EP is set for March 17, and grab “Weighed Sin”.
The video below is taken from a live session VanGaalen did in Quebec for Stereo-Sequence, recorded on October 24, 2011. How one man can command such presence with his voice and simple, quiet guitar, is a sight to behold. Truly captivating.
Scout’s Ashen Keilyn has a voice that is instantly recognizable. It’s earnest and inviting despite that, in this track, it’s singing of heartache and pain. Of “So Close” Ashen says, “It’s a song I wrote after one of many arguments. The line ‘So I’m stuck down here with my heart in a splint / getting so close to calling it quits’…well that’s exactly how I felt at the time.”
Ashen, and Scout, are preparing to release their first album since 2003, and much like last time it will include guitarist Steve Schiltz. Though some things have changed since 2003, obviously, as at that time Schiltz was just starting to get things going with his band Longwave. Now Longwave is gone, but Schiltz has remained busy on the scene with his solo project, Hurricane Bells, and a new label imprint in Invisible Brigades, which will be releasing the new Scout effort.
This video comes from director Bill Moldt, recorded live in Olé Recording studios in Queens and caputres Keilyn and Schiltz on guitars, with Schiltz singing falsetto backing vocals (and manning the omnichord/drum machine). The new Scout album, All Those Relays, also partially produced by drummer/producer of Spoon Jim Eno, will be released March 27 via Invisible Brigades.
Watching your favorite band break up is tough to do. It’s like being a kid and having to decide if you are going to live with your mom or your dad after your parents get divorced. I’m still in the phase where I’m holding out hope that Sonic Youth isn’t going to disband, but rumors of this coming Summer’s Lollapalooza performance being the bands last are going around, and sooner or later we are all going to have to face the inevitable together.
In the meantime, Thurston Moore has released an album of genteel, somnolence-inspiring arrangements that function essentially as ruminations on open guitar tunings; Steve Shelley is drumming with Disappears (a band that nobody would be paying attention to if Steve Shelley wasn’t drumming for them); and Lee Ranaldo is making his debut as a solo songwriter with his album “Between the Tides and the Times” on Matador Records.
This isn’t his debut album by any means, as he has released a handful of highly experimental albums including East Jesus, From Here to Infinity, and Amarillo Ramp (for Robert Smithson) that would test the fidelity of any true Sonic Youth fan. These albums are in addition to other free jazz albums that he has collaborated on.
So far we only have one song from the new album, set for release on March 20. “Off the Wall” is structured in typical verse/chorus/verse fashion with a free-wheeling easiness in the melody that sounds like it would fit perfectly on Rather Ripped. This is, oddly, quite a departure considering Ranaldo’s other works. Leave it to someone so completely left-of-center as Lee Ranaldo to release a straight ahead rock track and have it seem like a departure. The truth is that this track does sound like one of the songs that would appear on a Sonic Youth album, where Ranaldo is typically woefully underrepresented.
He’s also got some solo performances coming up, including a spot at Primavera. Check him out live if you can, as his band includes not only Steve Shelley (you know, the guy from Disappears), Nels Cline, Alan Licht and John Medeski. His tour, with M. Ward and Disappears, mostly hits up the East Coast and parts of the South and Midwest. You can check the dates here, and pre-order Between The Times and The Tides at Matador.
![Chad Vangaalen/Xiu Xiu split EP "The Green Corridor II"](http://quartertonality.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/chad-vangaalen-xiu-xiu-the-green-corridor-cover.jpg "Chad Vangaalen/Xiu Xiu split EP "The Green Corridor II"")
![Scout - "All Those Relays"](http://quartertonality.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/scout-all-those-relays-cover.jpeg "Scout - "All Those Relays"")
