The Theory Of Abstract Light - The Theory Of Abstract Light

Label: Tortuga
Year: 2002

One half of the formidable heavy drone duo 5ive, Ben Carr further pushes away from Earth to float across the galaxy on a wave of pulsating guitar manipulations. From acoustic, to electric, to something barely recognizable as guitar, he weaves in and out of your conscious mind on the ebb and flow of a wash of sound that hints at something terrible just on the edge of you vision.
The clumsy name aside, this record is something to let take over your environment, not something you listen to "for fun". Try it out while doing whatever creative endeavor it is that you do (would you like to see my collection of charcoal nudes some day?), and let its dark ambiance ride across your mind. See what you get.

DL

Breather Resist / Harkonen - Breather Resist + Harkonen split 7"

Label: Happy Couples Never Last
Year: 2004

Four songs that bludgeon their way across your frontal lobe(s) in ten minutes. Breather Resist come across as a noisy roaring thunderstorm that alternately peels paint and smashes holes the wall of your house (or, if you live in a mobile home...well...better get outside to your storm shelter). Harkonen are less meteorological in their path of destruction, and more of an off kilter factory line accident that pulls your arms out of socket. Make sense?
Breather Resist was a Louisville collection of volume mongers that came and went from Young Widows, Black Cross/Black Widows, The National Acrobat, Automatic, Trophy Wives, Black God, and Bad Secrets. Harkonen hailed from Seattle (area) and were equally well stocked with combative musicians that did/do time in Roy, Helms Alee, and Constant Lovers.
If you got down with the heavy Hydra Head strain of noise rock, then this one will do you right. Or wrong, depending on your tolerances.

DL

Back From Vacation

Survived another year of beach vacation, avoided shark attack and any major family meltdowns.
Success!
Will be back to posting...stick around.

Love your body,
Gray

Cable - Northern Failures

Label: Hydra Head
Year: 2001

The album that Cable released prior to this one, 'Gutter Queen' is a minor classic in the destructo-rock pantheon (and let's not forget the album that preceded THAT one, 'Variable Speed Drive', a noisy punch in the Adam's Apple in it's own right). So, this follow up had some pretty big shoes to fill, and by getting Steve Austin to record the thing (and scream along here and there), well, that's a pretty good start. And then to double down on the "been drinking since 1:00pm on account of getting pink slipped today at work, but fuck it, that job blew anyway...want a shot?"staggering swagger, I like that approach too.
The riffs get a little more southern fried, but the animosity is still on overkill. This band for real knows how to drive home a point, and usually that point is some derivation of "fuck off", or 'life is hard'. Speaks to me.
Somehow this record seems even more warped than what they had been doing, and definitely separated them from the Botch's and Deadguy's of the world, although you can still hear some of their history as a hardcore band, but now with added thick 16 heft. Cable took a nose dive into a self loathing stew of damaged, cascading, sludgy bile. The resulting listen, though, comes across as  exhilarating, not oppressive. It has enough swing that the groove keeps you on the up and up. Even when you're up and up above rotting prospects and a diseased future. But you're up there...for now.

DL 

Danzig - The Power Of The Dark Side

Label: bootleg
Year: 1994

Look, Danzig rules super hard, and if you think otherwise, you're just being obstinate and you can go eat shit accordingly. House rules.
With that out of the way, here's a super random bootleg that for whatever reason collects a couple songs from three different shows; the first in 1993 somewhere in the "U.S." (assuming that means United States, but still researching), and somewhere pretty big based on the audience response, the second group of songs are from 1989 in Los Angeles, and rip to the exact specifications you would expect of that vintage, while the last songs are from Buffalo, NY in 1994 and are of the worst sound quality.
But, like I said, Danzig rules super hard, so it's fine. You can have 17 songs and 3 of them be different versions of 'Mother'. Not an issue when, as previously stated, Danzig rules super hard, so don't sweat it.
Nothing bites like I do.

DL

Crooked Fingers - Red Devil Dawn Demos

Label: self released
Year: 2005

Back to Eric Bachmann, and the Crooked Fingers material that filled the Archers Of Loaf shaped hole in my heart circa 1998. As far as musical signposts go, I tend to re-calibrate towards Mr. Bachmann every few weeks, or at most, months. I've found that his (and his counterparts) songwriting cuts through a lot of what I want cut through, and hits in just the right spot (insert G-spot joke here). And hits hard.
The 'Red Devil Dawn' proper album came off the heels of the melancholic (even by Crooked Fingers standards) 'Bring On The Snakes' , and while retaining the spare Springsteen via Waits via Fahey via Jennings forward march against bad luck and meddling miscreants, the songs were injected with horns and lounge-y melodies and Mexican swing to great effect. Again, by Crooked Fingers standards it was a sunny day after a month of rain. The demos here are the skeletal and delicately plucked shadows of those album versions. Fully formed in their own rights, they carry the full weight of Bachmann's rasp, and are held aloft by the underrated, glorious guitar playing that he uses to map the darker corners of dying town, or a drawn out one sided love affair. There are few singer/songwriters who can wring so much emotion from such minimal composition. It's amazing to me. Which explains why I'm always circling back.

DL

Anodyne - The Outer Dark

Label: Escape Artist
Year: 2002

Described somewhere on, or adjacent, this very blog as "more Amphetamine Reptile than Hydra Head", I would wager Anodyne were slightly more Hydra Head then Amphetamine Reptile. And that may have more to do with the time period in which they were in existence, the era after Today Is The Day had finally been discovered and plundered by every Drowningman and Converge and Nineironspitfire out there bringing a super noisy and bombastic version of hardcore to VFW halls all across this great nation.
Anodyne have some of that Today Is The Day residue coloring their sound for sure, but they also skew more metallic in the pure sense of the word, like, they were coming from more of a Dark Throne background and less of a Downcast one. Could be conjecture on my part, but I imagine these three guys had pretty substantial metal collections in their record crates.
Loud, abrasive, thoughtfully articulated attack. That's Anodyne. Totally necessary.

DL

Black Pus - All My Relations

Label: Thrill Jockey
Year: 2013

Brian Chippendale, most notably the drummer for Lightning Bolt, has over the years released a bunch of solo records under the name Black Pus, most of which are "too much" for my delicate sensibilities. Like, just too much of everything. Free jazz for art school noise rockers. Which, whatever, that's great if that's your bag, but it's never been mine.
Give me something I can dance to.
But this album, which I will freely admit went unheard by me for (I'm assuming) four years until recently it showed up in my face and ready to party. And, shit, I like party. You party?
It's still "a lot", everything is warped and tweaked and coming at you from every angle, but it's not "too much". Something about maintains a cohesion that I like, cutting through some of the rowdy experimental-ism, and revealing actual songs under there. I think.
Maybe it's the party talking? This fucked up, ant infested, barely legal party?

DL

UT - Delta Gamma Epsilon Beta

Label: Marsiglia
Year: 2017

The Italian Stallion himself, Trento, Italy SGM Bureau Chief Aaron Giazzon comes through with another banger form the Old Country.
UT hail from Genoa, but, as noted the last time we posted them, you would be excused if you assumed they originated in the American Midwest. They bare many of the Rust Belt (and adjacent) hallmarks of a band in proximity to Shellac, Slint, Big'N, Rodan, Bitch Magnet, and Janitor Joe. But, again, we covered this the last time around.
So what's different on this new record?
Glad you asked.
Essentially it's just "better". The first one was really good, as it mined the rich vein of push-and-pull noise rock, with an undercurrent of melody to keep it from falling in on itself. And this time around, they do the same, only...better. The ugly parts are uglier, the driving parts are driving harder, and when they catch their breathe, those parts are more "Slint-y". Which is a good way to catch your breath. Delta Gamma Epsilon Beta also manages to weave in some indie rock passages, and the occasional big alternative rock hook. Which, hey, who's complaining? Those are all fun things to listen to, so why not work it all in together, like a well crafted sandwich?
I've been really enjoying this record a lot. I think you'll like it too.

DL

The Black Heart Procession - 1

Label: Headhunter
Year: 1998

One of the best shows I ever saw was The Black Heart Procession at the Casbah in San Diego. Full on, low lights, black jackets, sunglasses, creepy as fuck, and more powerful than most bands can muster. All with piano, guitar, vocals and the occasional drum and bass. Intensely captivating and moving in a way that I've seldom felt.
For when you're feeling bad after murdering your (ex)roomate.
The band is Pall Jenkins (Three Mile Pilot, Ugly Casanova, Blacksoulwater) and Tobias Nathaniel (Struggle, Three Mile Pilot, A Day Called Zero), and on this album they are assisted by friends, Mario Rubalcaba (OFF!, Hot Snakes, 411, Metroschiffter, Thingy, Rocket From The Crypt, Sea Of Tombs, Earthless, Clikatat Ikatowi, and million others), Ryan Hadlock, and Jen Wood (The Postal Service).

DL