Howdy, I hope you’re doing ok at this moment. Welcome to issue #19 of Crow’s Nest, and as always thank you for reading and opening. I hope you find something you enjoy within.
No essay for this issue, I’m a bit surprised I feel fully up for writing an issue this weekend and only 2 weeks since my last one. Things have been feeling quite relentless in my life, one ting after the other on top of that other and oh by the way that thing’s happening again, etc. So, despite feeling a bit behind on the latest releases and no obvious marquee title this past few weeks, let’s get to it. No readings as I’ve not come across anything that spectacular as of late.
There’s one word in particular you could use to describe this but I won’t. Like the cover art makes clear, this trio of longform minimalist pieces is highly evocative of temperate forests and the ecstasy they contain. Perhaps not in a fully Romantic sense but very much an energetic Expressionist manner, I’m sure. The speedy quarter-note runs on sax and clarinet give this a lively energy that can make others attempting it fall flat; this also makes comparisons to similar acts like The Necks, GAS or maybe Dawn of Midi seem inadequate too. The moments when one instrument abruptly drop out of the mix are simply stunning, too. Writing this up I realized this is in fact the, as the title suggests, last of 3 releases in this cycle. I know what I’ll be playing shortly then.
This album caught my attention during my latest inbox flood spurred by Bandcamp Friday and I’m glad it did. It’s a heavy, heady mix of shoegaze, noise rock and motorik Kraut. Will Obey Cobra dethrone Young Marble Giants as my favorite Welsh band? Probably not, though this is a band with enormous potential to, at minimum, become another must-see highlight of the British underground.
Last issue I highlighted Mega Bog’s Life, and Another, especially noting producer/drummer James Krivchenia’s contributions to making it all work. Group leader Erin Birgy and Krivchenia are partners, as a Pitchfork profile that ran the next day noted, and Krivchenia has continued his production streak, this time for his main group Big Thief. It’s not clear if this is a one-off for the group, a reminder for their upcoming tour, or a more insular turn, but if they continue to create songs as great as Little Things I can’t complain about that.
I described this EP in a Twitter thread last Bandcamp Friday as something Floating Points might make if he worked in a palette defined by bass music instead of boogie and jazz. I feel that description holds up here, and is fitting considering Surgeons Girls’s last EP came out on Livity Sound. Curses, who curated a massive dance punk compilation I featured a few issues back, adds in a synthwave-esque remix to this as well.
I’m not terribly familiar with the Pacific Northwest’s dance music culture—I know it exists but I know more about its alternative, indie and (via Yellow Swans) noise/avant-garde scenes than dance per se—so I have no real idea if or how dub techno has been a thing there. A quality record is a quality record independent of its location though, so this 2-tracker by Moss Wand gets my stamp of approval. It’s got a propulsive energy to it that other in the genre can lack which is nice. The duo state “We hope those tracks serve as a container for your most natural way of being in your own essence.” which, ok, that’s very Portland of you.
Learning this producer’s age was a mistake. Anyway, Ineffekt is a mainstay of the constellation of labels releasing quality, lighter electronic music centered in the Netherlands and extending to Scandinavia—I’m thinking of Atomnation and Nous’klaer here. This is his debut on Intercept, and it’s full of bright, sharp sounds that have me reaching to play again or rewind because I feel bad for not paying attention. I imagine this won’t be the last time I mention him here in Crow’s Nest.
A few issues back I included this release on the strength of lead single Mynd Fuc. The full album is worth your while, I can report, though it is one of the most bracing albums I’ve come across as of late. It’s grounded in footwork with strong jazz elements to it, and also serves as a document of growth following Jana’s struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts. The track titles are very on point, it’s worth it but you’ve been warned.
Ziúr’s latest album Antifate came out a few months ago. I liked it but found it a bit too abstract to revisit or highlight here. She’s since release reworks of some of the album’s tracks in a reconstructed dance style which I found myself playing on repeat a couple afternoons ago.
There was a minor ruckus on Twitter this week when someone posted an excerpt of Kanye’s On Sight asking if people actually liked it. I can’t defend ‘Ye nowadays but yes, that beat is excellent if harsher than I remember. That’s stuck with me as I’ve gone through this archival compilation of mid-90s electro from the Netherlands’s RA-X. This material was, as the notes state, recorded on cheap, old gear directly to cassette, and while it lacks some of the harshness Kanye could coax out of his studio equipment and, yes, Daft Punk, it’s a quality if lengthy release that helps remind me of how taste is subjective and frequently dependent on context to fully understand a work.
Easily one of the best band names I’ve seen in a while, Lunch Money Life are a UK jazz band striking a good balance between taking their music seriously but not taking themselves too seriously. Presumably that’s how you get a track called Nicholas Cage Please Get In Touch you can’t dismiss as a novelty. Here’s hoping this group exceeds their benchmark standard by a fair amount.
Ok I’m going to call that the issue then. If you’ve gotten to this point, thank you for reading Crow’s Nest, as always. Feel free to drop me a line via the buttons here or on Twitter @embirdened if you enjoy what you’ve heard from here. If things are a bit relentless in your life at this time, I hope they ease up soon. Take care in the meantime.