4ad-l Mail for 12-08-1996

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Subject: Bowery Beat/ Labradford
Date: Sat, 7 Dec 1996 21:24:10 -0800
From: "Brendan A. McCarthy" ([email protected])
Subject: Albino Alligator
Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 01:09:49 -0800
From: Jeff Keibel ([email protected])
Subject: Spaced-out Alligators
Date: Fri, 6 Dec 1996 17:40:36 -0800
From: Jeff Keibel ([email protected])
Subject: Re: CT website always busy
Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 03:16:14 EST
From: Jeremy L Orr ([email protected])
Subject: lilys' *tonebender*
Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 04:44:27 +0500
From: susan marie mcgowan ([email protected])
Subject: Re: artsy fartsy
Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 16:03:15 PST
From: naor ([email protected])
Subject: Re: Listworthy Show on 12/12
Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 11:15:44 +0000
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: sliding and diving
Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 18:34:20 -0500
From: jawolfe ([email protected])
Subject: Paradise Motel/Philipa Nihil live
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 1996 11:00:00 EST
From: Cameron Webb ([email protected])
Subject: Re: artsy fartsy
Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 21:32:46 -0500
From: "James P. Crimm" ([email protected])

Date: Sat, 7 Dec 1996 21:24:10 -0800
From: "Brendan A. McCarthy" ([email protected])
Subject: Bowery Beat/ Labradford


here are some attempts at descibing some of the excellent kranky music
i've recently acquired...

\\--------//
bowery electric - beat
(kranky records, krank014, CD/DLP)

simple, catchy basslines anchor the minimalistic guitar drones and
accents.  a wonderfully moody & sedate album.  it lulls.  while it's
obvious that they revere Slowdive, (less so here than on their debut,) BE
are clearly defining their own character.  this album seems richer and
more varied than their first.

the album's title track, "beat," opens with a simple hypnotic combination
of bass, a single keyboard chord, drum machine and wonderul scratchy
surface-noise.  with margaret's vocals "words are just words/words are
only noise." it approximates portishead stripped to the bones.
"empty words" "black light" and "coming down" are all solidly good
slowdive-esque tracks.  the first would have been at home on BE's debut.
the latter two feature lawrence's vocals on top of margaret's (very
neil+rachael-like.)
on both "without stopping" and "fear of flying" the percussion reminds me
of evanescence-era scorn. beyond that the tone is brooding or hopeful and
dreamy with some nice subdued whirring noises (likes banks of washing
machines in a laundromat.)
"under the sun" is stark and spooky with reverbed bass and a subdued
noisy background like (i hear the eraserhead soundtrack.)
"inside out" is a strange courtship - a single guitar chord answering an
inviting bassline while lazy drums with constant cymbalic shimmer
maintain the pace.  there's a warm relaxing feel here.
"postscript" is a minimal single-chord subtly phasing for 16 minutes.
relaxing, but not powerful enough to be hypnotic.

//--------\\

\\--------//
labradford - s/t
(kranky krank013) CD/LP

it seems that labradford are still painting brilliantly lonely sonic
landscapes. after creating exploring the tundra with last year's "a
stable reference," they've on to explore the deserts of the american
southwest.
this album isn't as intense and overwhelmingly gorgeous as ASR (which may
well be one of my favourite albums ever.)  but after a few listens, it is
holding up quite well.

the album opens with "phantom channel crossing" - an subtle instrumental
appetizer with intermittent clanking chains.
the guitar melody/reverb and violin on "midrange" set the album's vaguely
western motif.   mark's vocals are nearly obscured by the keyboard
melody and mysterious beacon-like beeps.  this song has a wandering, lost
feel.
"pico" - this song sounds like it could have escaped from labradford's
incredible "a stable reference" album.  haunting and beautifully
desolate.  the eerie keyboards call out of the fog created by braided
bass and guitar.  (the keyboards remind me a little of the haunting theme
from "In Search Of" which i loved as a child. Leonard Nimoy hosted this
paranormal-wierdness series in the late 70's.)
"lake speed" - initially reminds me of lost desperation of "at the heart
of it all" ("scatology"-era Coil) and then labradford take over again.
this track doesn't work for me as well as "pico," but the subtle
crackling on the vocals and the chilly layered echoey radio-like tones
and feedback are a pleasant counterpoint to the warm bass.
at nearly 8 minutes, "battered" is my favourite track on the album.
beginning with loneliness (little noises and beeps weave in and out of
this track recalling the moods on slowdive's moving "pygmalion")

//--------\\

jens - you won't be disappointed with the new bowery electric, i think.

joroses - as far as recommendations for labradford... start with "a
stable reference" (1995.) it's a complex ambient excursion into
loneliness.  "prazision" (1993) is good overall, tho a tad wobbly and
self-conscious at times; and hints at what is to come.   "labradford"
(1996) builds upon the elements in ASR, with the western guitar-flair and
warm bass softening the bleak edginess.

i'll review the new jessamine and fuxa soon.


brendan

[email protected]

Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 01:09:49 -0800
From: Jeff Keibel ([email protected])
Subject: Albino Alligator


It was written:

> What is HNIA's Albino Alligator (it's a Kevin Spacey movie, i think)?

It IS in fact a soundtrack to the movie Kevin Spacey directed and
starred in.  However, the artist who contributed the soundtrack is 4AD's
Michael Brook as opposed to His Name Is Alive.  The movie received
glowing reviews when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Fest
in September.  Someone connected to 4AD told me the album and the movie
are released in February.

Jeff Keibel
Scarborough, ON
CANADA
[email protected]

Date: Fri, 6 Dec 1996 17:40:36 -0800
From: Jeff Keibel ([email protected])
Subject: Spaced-out Alligators


It was written:

> What is HNIA's Albino Alligator (it's a Kevin Spacey movie, i think)?

It IS in fact a soundtrack to the movie Kevin Spacey directed and
starred in.  However, the artist who contributed the soundtrack is 4AD's
Michael Brook as opposed to His Name Is Alive.  The movie received
glowing reviews when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Fest
in September.  Someone connected to 4AD told me the album and the move
are released in February.

Jeff Keibel
Scarborough, ON
CANADA
[email protected]


Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 03:16:14 EST
From: Jeremy L Orr ([email protected])
Subject: Re: CT website always busy


---from Kendal Myka Obermeyer:

> ...I can't get to the CT website (garnet.berkeley...etc:8080)
> I always get a busy signal.  Did the whole thing move and I didn't
> catch it? This is entirely possible.

The band's official website is:

I think the Berkeley site has been taken down for some time now, but I
don't know this for sure.

And totally off the subject, I just saw an ad for some cold medicine or
something whose slogan was "[product] makes you feel better.  Not worse."
 Pretty amazing, huh?

---Jeremy 

"...slept through the sermon of stuck alarms..."


Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 04:44:27 +0500
From: susan marie mcgowan ([email protected])
Subject: lilys' *tonebender*


no, 'tonebender' is probably what his friend is looking for.  the
'tonebender' cdep on summershine (of which there is also a 7" version)
includes 'tonebender', 'eskimo', 'february fourteenth', and 'threw a day'.
there *is* a 'february fourteenth' 7" on slumberland (with completely
different artwork than 'tonebender' and of which there are a few different
pressings with different-coloured vinyl and sleeves), but it only includes
'february fourteenth' and 'threw a day' (yup, the 'hidden' ninth track on
the 'in the presence of nothing' album).  whew! confused enough?
in regards to finding any of these, do try
sell' and vinyl ink (http://vinyl.ari.net/).  (i've no problem advertising
either one of these 'cause they're both great places to find stuff!)
hope this was of some help...
~susan.

>there are 3 (i think) different pressing of this.  the older ones are
>harder to find but the newest is pretty easy.  got mine from VinylInk i
>think.  It has Feb 14th and Threw A Day (the second to last song on ITPON
>cd).  No, Tonebender is different.

>> (1) A friend of mine is looking for a CD copy of Lilys "February
>> Fourteenth" single.  Is this hard to find?  Is it the same thing as the
>> _Tonebender_ EP?


Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 16:03:15 PST
From: naor ([email protected])
Subject: Re: artsy fartsy


>To convey an
>emotion... ..wheather pleasant or not, is what makes good art (IMO).
>         Cheers,     Pat



actually, conveying UNpleasant emotions especially, was the purpose of
the most respected form of art in ancient greece: tragedy. considering
the kind of music I normally listen to nowadays, I guess some aspects of
art hasn't changed much since then. of course, the idea behind the greek
tragedy (one of the ideas anyway) was that experiencing strong unpleasant
feelings during the show would clean the soul of these emotions and leave
the viewer feeling better afterwards.  this does not seem to work me now.
oh well.
-naor-
daydreaming days in a daydream nation


Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 11:15:44 +0000
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Listworthy Show on 12/12


[email protected] wrote:

> Just wanted to let you all know that the band Paige will be playing at the
> Martini Lounge, Thursday December 12th. For all of you that remember, they
> were the ones that played with His Name Is Alive this last September. They
> are definately worth checking out. It's 21 and over. Hope to see ya all
> there.
>
You know, I would be there except I don't happen to be familiar with
the Martini lounge.   I wonder why... maybe it's because we don't all
live on the same continent, much less in the same city?

[email protected]


Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 18:34:20 -0500
From: jawolfe ([email protected])
Subject: Re: sliding and diving


On Fri, 6 Dec 1996, C. Kemnitz wrote:

>I believe that it was Bauhaus that did "She's In Parties" at least
> > >that's >what the 12'inch
>
> Okay, let's not get petty, or i'll ask you how you fit that twelve foot
> record on your turntable.


Touche!!!!!You got me :).  I'll be thinking about that 12 foot record
next time an anal streak strikes.

Jes


Date: Mon, 9 Dec 1996 11:00:00 EST
From: Cameron Webb ([email protected])
Subject: Paradise Motel/Philipa Nihil live


Hey 4AD-L,
A few months back there had been a bit of talk about the PARADISE
MOTEL so I thought some of you may be interested in their live shows.
They were supported by Philipa Nihil (ex vocalist with THE UNDERGROUND
 LOVERS) so there is even some 4AD connection.


I've never really been sure why Philipa left The Underground Lovers,
they are a great band, but from her performance tonight it seems there
will be a promising "solo career" to follow.  She played a very relaxed,
casual set backed by a 2nd guitarist, bass player and occasionally a drum
machine (was it a casio?) but basically it was just her guitar, beautiful vocals
and laid back pop songs. There was even an "anti-rock" protest while Philipa
encouraged the people at the front to keep sitting on the floor despite
constant demands by "security" to stand.
By the time The Paradise Motel wandered on stage there were well
over 100 people and it was hot, a bit too hot really, but its always
good when the beer's served in cold glasses!  They started with Bad
Light which built from an acoustic strum to a climax highlighted by
Matthew Aulich's (at times Blixa-ish) distorted guitar work. They
were very reminiscent of The Bad Seeds (even down to the suits) with
2 guitars (acoustic & electric), bass, drums and organ. The intensity
they brought to the live performance highlighted a new quality to
their songs which hasn't come across in  any of their studio
recordings so far.  Though, as good as the music was its really Merida's
amazing vocals which make this band so great and the biggest surprise
tonight was that she actually seemed like she was having a good time,
constantly smiling through the whole set. It was refreshing to see,
especially since I was expecting a rather "somber" performance.
The between song chatter was limited to song intros and passing
comments about the heat and while the size of the stage (pretty small)
limited much movement it was the songs which performed tonight.
Highlights of the set were Jack Star and German Girl ("Some deaths take
forever" EP) and Dead Skin and Men Who Loved Her ("Still Life" LP).
The encores of Ash and California didn't make it to the same
intensity as some of the earlier songs but none-the-less capped  a
great performance.

Inevitably PM will make it to Europe/US sometime next year so get
along and check them out.




---------------------------------------
next Honeyhunters gig,
Cat & Fiddle Hotel Thurs 12th Dec
---------------------------------------
Cameron Webb
Medical Entomology
Westmead Hospital/University of Sydney
WESTMEAD NSW 2145
(02) 9845 7548
[email protected]
---------------------------------------


Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 21:32:46 -0500
From: "James P. Crimm" ([email protected])
Subject: Re: artsy fartsy


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