Howdy, and welcome to issue #66 of Crow’s Nest. I definitely didn’t foresee not writing an issue in February but that’s how things broke: I didn’t want to publish one on Super Bowl Sunday, then I had a going-away party for a friend (and Crow’s Nest reader) during my usual writing time on Sunday, then it was too unusually warm (for now) and nice out in February to not go for an afternoon walk last week. Still is this Sunday but I’m slightly under the weather now so it’s not the time to push it physically. Sometimes you need to live life a bit instead of finding the soundtrack for it.
Right after publishing my last Crow’s Nest issue, I went halfway across Chicago to catch the U.S. premier of a documentary on Damo Suzuki at a bar I hadn’t been to before. Before the documentary—following Suzuki’s life as he is treated for cancer with a 10% survival chance and continuing his never-ending tour he’d done after leaving CAN in 1973—a group of local players centered around the No Sé Discos label did an Instant Composition jam in the style Suzuki encouraged, creating new songs on the spot, never to be repeated. It was overall a great way to spend a Monday evening, observing the possibilities that come with throwing out the rulebook to life and art and attempting to make something new.
Less than 2 weeks later, I would wake to the news that Suzuki had passed away at 74 years old. His legacy has been centered on the work he had done with CAN—as would anyone’s would be when you sang on Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi and Future Days—but to disregard the remaining half-century of his work, throwing himself into the unknown whole-heartedly and embracing what might come as a result, feels like an oversight. I hesitate to say my first listen to Tago Mago was mind-blowing, as it took me some time to get into it (and frankly I am still trying to process it), but as I continued listening and dug deeper into it—what was this Japanese guy doing playing in a band with these Germans? In 1971? How is the drummer playing like that?—the possibilities of what music could be and what it could do expanded my worldview. I’m not sure I could ever repay that back.
Suzuki’s passing also makes the arrival of the latest live LP from CAN’s archives bittersweet. Recorded in Paris at one of Suzuki’s last shows with the group, and the first of the series to feature him, the record is a stunning document of the band near their peak in a way you’ve not heard before. Hearing the band riff on and extend Ege Bamyasi cuts past the 10-minute mark in a way that dilates time, where you don’t realize or mind how long they’ve been jamming this, are their own rewards. The highlight for me is the 4th track, which I don’t recognize as based on an existing song, which builds into a colossus that instantly reminds you about just how incredible this group. If the previous live records didn’t seem essential, don’t let that dissuade you from adding another incredible record of theirs to your collection.
Closer to home, following Suzuki’s passing the No Sé Discos crew posted one Instant Composition from the show Defender did with Suzuki at the Fireside Bowl in 2003. They’re looking for funds to master the rest of the recording and press it to vinyl. I struggle to think of a worthier way to celebrate Suzuki’s legacy than helping to preserve such a document.
I have a massive first-exposure bias to the bands that I listen to, which can make it hard for me to continue following a band’s evolution over time. So while I’ve been a fan of Parquet Courts for a while—their 2018 show at 9:30 Club the night the Caps won the Stanley Cup remains one of my craziest gig stories—I haven’t paid attention to them recently. Case in point, I have yet to listen to frontman A. Savage’s latest solo record, yet I’ve probably spun this one-off single 2 dozen times at least. It’s got a ‘Jesus etc.’ melancholy edge to it worth savoring many times over, in its own iconoclastic manner. Well worth the reflection while it’s still kinda cold out.
A lot of footwork can be described as ‘skittering’ in the way the beats move around in semi-abstract ways that are hard to follow in a conventional sense, but Jana Rush takes that to the next level on this remix of German producers Schmeichel & Shane Lizard’s track here. It’s chopped in a space-y manner that’s disorienting throughout its short runtime, very much worth repeated listens. The original doesn’t slack either.
“Cosmic dance” duo Beh’Ouai relocated to France from Chicago last year, and have put out a pair of singles since then. The second one is just a really nice and sweet song mixing psychedelia, krautrock, and a bit of 12-bar blues together that’s impossible to be sad to when you listen.
Stereolab’s discography and universe is one of music’s most extensive—I’ve yet to listen to Laetitia Sadier’s new solo album, and this recent Bandcamp Daily feature includes several more eras of her unknown to me—that it can be hard to know where to begin. To that end, the band have re-compiled their 5 Switched-On collections of non-album tunes into one 8 CD box set. The overall runtime rivals that of Bela Tárr’s SÁTÁNTANGÓ, which is objectively A Lot, so the band have also compiled a 15-track best-of compilation that’s moderately less intimidating a prospect (and I say this as a fan). Le Guess Who? have also released part of their headlining performance from last year online—the band also partially curated the fest’s lineup—if you’re still not satiated, iterating that you can’t have too many versions of ‘Lo Boob Oscillator’ before you get tired of them.
Above Boards Projects does an Optimo compilation: do you need anything more to hit play? The intrepid Scottish crate diggers have built their following off of playing what they want, however they want, and maybe you can dance to it. While the duo have pivoted from a weekly club night in Glasgow to a label digging up under appreciated gems, anything they bring up is worth considering. I can’t speak to everything within since I only got the full version after buying it last Bandcamp Friday, and am first listening to it as I edit this, but any compilation with room for African Head Charge, Mike Dunn, Chris & Cosey and Liquid Liquid under one roof is worth checking out.
I saw local band Varsity open for Snail Mail years ago; my main impression of them was that there were probably 2-3 more people than necessary on stage. Evidently not paying further attention to them has been a mistake, as I completely missed their pandemic-disrupted record Fine Forever and their monthly Souvenirs single series they’ve compiled into a new record, until the Reader pointed out their release show after it sold out. Solid indie pop/rock is always welcome to me, so I guess now it’s time to double down on my habit of perusing upcoming show schedules for their next gig.
I don’t consider Atlanta to be a hotbed of post-punk activity—Pylon and the B-52s originated an hour and 15 minutes east of there—but Omni has made it work for at least a decade so clearly I don’t know everything. Despite their setup and form being Exactly My Shit, I’d avoided them for reasons I can’t articulate until their latest record. The band break out from the guitar-bass-drums trio setup you’ve heard many times over on this record, notably bringing in Izzy Glaudini from Automatic to guest on vocals. I still need to sit with this some more but I imagine seeing them at Schubas next weekend will cement their work into permanent rotation in my brain.
Having read the equivalent of 2 books’ worth of stuff on underground music from New Zealand—the 33 1/3 on The Dead C’s Clyma Est Mort is a great way to help understand that group—you would think I might eventually run out of music to discover from there. Thankfully, Leather Jacket Records continues to do the Lord’s work and prove me wrong. Ballon D’Essai were active in Christchurch around Flying Nun’s peak, and the 4 records recently reissues captured the group somewhere between krautrock, post-punk and what sounds a bit like Roy Montgomery’s guitar work. The highlight for me is the mini-compilation Woot! is the Word—talk about being ahead of your time!
I’ve recently started using the term ‘bloodless’ as what I think is a more polite way to describe light folk/singer-songwriter material that lacks vitality or just straight-up sucks. This is not one of those records. Imitation of War is full with an underlying vitality—it’s the drums, it’s always the drums on folk records—that has made it a repeat listen over the past few weeks, well worth your time to dig into. Highlight ‘Easy Spirit’ sounds a bit like a long-lost Grateful Dead acid folk jam.
LA experimental jazz icon Sam Gendel has a fairly abstract, kinda intimidating style and a sprawling discography to accompany it. Playing in a duo with the Brazilian-born guitarist Fabiano do Nascimento here, though, he provides a very light, breezy counterpoint accompaniment on the soprano sax that sounds pleasant rather than durationally challenging. Like a lot of great music from Brazil, this is a record whose subtleties are as complex and rewarding as records made elsewhere that are 10 times as intense. I’m gonna need to find a day at the beach and have this on as I relax on the sand with a book to truly appreciate it.
Soundway Records reissued a clutch of records by Trinidadian artist Oluko Imo, both him as a solo artist and leading the Black Truth Rhythm Band. The remaster of Ifetayo is the highlight among them for me, a great slab of 70s jazz-funk that sounds quite a bit like Larry Young to my ear. Well worth it even if my description is actually horrendously inaccurate there, I’m not an expert on this stuff, I just love how it sounds.
I always welcome more music from Portuguese producer Photonz, and his latest record for Solar Phenomena is well worth the spin. Very groovy, bouncing drums with an underlying drone component that stays colorful and exciting where a lot of other dance music might fall flat.
I skipped the classic rock phase when getting into music, which is probably why my taste veers eclectic. This record by NYC group The Follies definitely has a bit of the old-school rocking over grooving vibe to it, but is satisfactory enough to spin like 4 times in a day. I’m reminded of Television’s genre-bending but still falling under the punk label with them.
Also out on Feel It Records, Grazia pull in a completely different direction, combining the theatrical power pop instincts of labelmates Spread Joy with an electroclash-y visual aesthetic that revels in the joys of only having a few bucks in your wallet and not being your most morally upright self. Good fun if a bit intimidating for someone reserved like me.
Alright, I’m gonna cap this at 15 entries. For each one here there’s another two I could have included but there’s only so much I can do at once. If you’re reading this, I hope you agree that February was a challenging and difficult but also necessary month, and now it’s March and you made it through that. Good on you. I hope you found something above that you enjoy. Until next time.