When Magik Markers rolled through town awhile back it was a bit of a revelation. Their transformation from post-punk chaos to delayed out wah-psych has come full circle in a cosmic freak-out anchored by the deftly minimal bass playing of newbie John Shaw. Thankfully a brand new side of this development has emerged on one side of a split with Sic Alps marking the recording debut of this trio and the results rival anything the band has done thus far. Elisa takes the lead in a more subdued haze of manic intensity, her guitar playing...
continue reading "Sic Alps / Magik Markers Split 12"
by STEVE LOWENTHAL on 2/5/2010
 The first time I met Jack Rose, I did not like the guy. My brother introduced me to him one night at some long gone performance space in Philly in the late 90's and I remember Jack coming at me with both barrels blazing rattling on and on about records he recently bought, records he wanted, and just records in general. These were subjects I had no problem holding my ground on, but as the conversation went on; it was clear he would command the proceedings no matter what I said or did. Any dissension from his opinion on anything - be it John Fahey, Tony Joe White or Yoko Ono - would be met with a scornful bellow delivered with a ‘motherfucker!’ at the end of the sentence to get the point across. After awhile, I couldn’t get a word in edgewise with the guy and excused myself for a false bathroom break. ‘Jesus Christ! Thanks for leaving me with that asshole!’ I told my brother when I came back from my pretend pee.
continue reading "In Memory of Jack Rose"
by TONY RETTMAN on 12/9/2009
 One Year ago Cold Cave played their first show at a Swingset Magazine party along with Burning Star Core and Dan Melchior. We haven't heard a thing about them since. So we sent Tony Rettman to get the scoop. Here is his report.
continue reading "Cold Cave interview"
by TONY RETTMAN on 11/16/2009
 The bar has been set again by Ron Lessard, the great schemer of noise and contemporary art hero, with the release of the RRR 1000 lock groove LP. In the making of this release, twenty artists each created 50 loops, all 1.8 seconds in duration, which repeat infinitely until the listener manually moves the needle-- in essence, a perfect skip. For any sane human being the concept is utterly masochistic and unfathomable, but for those with a sound complex, the various results and approaches are infinite and daunting. To what degree and duration does a lock groove reveal its merits or personality? Approached from a minimalist standpoint one could easily site the precedents of Lamonte Young, John Cage, and even Andy Warhol, as artists who used extreme time expansion as a means to create hypnosis and reveal the character of a sound or image over a period of hours, days and beyond. One could argue that it would take one thousand days to fully get the effect of this record. Maybe more.
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by STEVE LOWENTHAL on 10/15/2009
 It was in some Midwestern record store many moons ago that I came across a copy of Jimmy Campbells second record, Half Baked. It was an intriguing specimen to me for a few reasons. Firstly, it was on Vertigo, the label responsible for releasing everything from Sabbath to Patto to Cressida to that old splooge guzzler, Rod Stewart. The label rarely steered me wrong in my dork ball collector days of wanting every slice of vinyl made by any British dude who wore a pair of overalls. Also, the proprietor of the dump slapped a sticker on it comparing it to Roy Harper, which gave it some potential, but I think the thing that really made me walk out with the thing under my arm that day was the cover; a twisted full color photo of a forest setting with two clowns of the opposite sex in the center. The male stared at the female despondently while she looked off blankly towards the camera. She is clearly pregnant and has very dirty stockings on. I twisted the scenario plastered on the cover over and over in my head on the ride back to New Jersey. When I got home and put the thing on the turntable, I was even more confused. Did this guy want to be John Lennon? Dylan? Bolan? Nick Drake? The tracks seemed to jump from style to style seamlessly. Who the hell was this Jimmy Campbell? I needed to find out.
continue reading "Jimmy Campbell - Son of Anastasia CD; Half Baked CD; Jimmy Campbells Album CD (Esoteric)"
by TONY RETTMAN on 10/15/2009
An interesting record to say the least, Sleeping and Hiding is a consistent black hole of nuance. Ludvall creates a 3AM minimal synth version of Pink Moon, using a subtle electronic palate and a hushed vocal delivery. The rhythmic sounds are a muted industrial pulse that juxtaposes the more human songwriting in way that helps the songs move. The sounds here are European sounding yet surprisingly Ludvall hails from Long Island, the Hamptons no less, signaling a modern day Gatsby-like ennui is present behind the hushed gothic palate strokes...
continue reading "Tor Lundvall - Sleeping and Hiding (Dais)"
by STEVE LOWENTHAL on 9/11/2009
Right to the point of why Oneohtrix Point Never's Zones Without People is successful is at its heart its trance music. Within that it's engaging, melodic, repetitive and not altogether foreign. Rather, OPN stems from more of a conscious effort to reinterpret modernity through a perspective that was weaned on VHS and late night satellite beams. A solo project of Daniel Lopatin, OPN has emerged as the forefront of the analog synth movement by truly demonstrating compositional skill over effects and infusing his material with...
continue reading "Oneohtrix Point Never - Zones Without People (Arbor)"
by STEVE LOWENTHAL on 9/11/2009
 Before I ever met Matt Krefting, I found him to be an intriguing dude, especially his choice in haircuts. One trip down to Brooklyn, he’d be sportin’ some sorta butcher baby bowl cut that would make Moe Howard cringe and the next week I’d take a trip up to Northern Massachusetts to see him at some such gathering or another donning a quaff that would make Paul Mitchell shriek in purple envy. ‘Hmm…what makes this dudes’ sheers tick?’ I pondered from across the room while others weaved to and fro from the man. After that, I got to know him as a member of the barely there drone trio Son of Earth as well as the bass player for the shambling and defunct Glam Rock unit, The Believers. When I finally got to talk to the guy, I found him to be more than a haircut. He’s a genuinely swell cat with a sharp musical knowledge and a ferocious appetite for whiskey and wine.
continue reading "Matt Krefting interview"
by TONY RETTMAN on 6/16/2009
Despite a small population consisting mainly of descendents of England’s cast-offs, Australia has graced the rest of the English-speaking world with many excellent rock bands. AC/DC, the Saints, Coloured Balls, Radio Birdman, and the Birthday Party are just a few of the many Australian bands worthy of any rock fanatic’s collection. And now, with their second full-length album, Eddy Current Suppression Ring makes a play for inclusion in the annals of antipodean rock accomplishment. While the production value of...
continue reading "Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Primary Colours (Goner)"
by JOEL HUNT on 5/21/2009
Itās difficult to describe just how great a band Harry Pussy was, or how thoroughly the Miami-based trio demolished the line between provocation and confrontation, without noting that their least offensive aspect was their name. During their brief mid-1990s ācareerā they managed to utterly obliterate audience expectations, even when those expectations were at best marginal. The one time I was lucky enough to see āem, at a show I booked during their farewell tour, they even managed to bum out a small crowd of otherwise open-minded...
continue reading "Harry Pussy - You'll Never Play This Town Again (Load)"
by JOEL HUNT on 9/11/2009
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