Crow’s Nest 82: 031624
Dissonant Records For Dissident Times
Hey, welcome to issue #82 of Crow’s Nest. As always, thank you for reading and opening this. I hope you were able to enjoy the nice fake spring weather we had yesterday and the day before—I managed to time a mental health day off perfectly for that—and that any storms you encountered were minimally damaging. And, of course, that everything else in your world is going alright; I survived layoffs at my day job which isn’t nothing, for sure. L e t ‘ s g e t t o i t t h e n .
Reading between the lines of my taste, you can probably deduce that I’m not the biggest fan of some of the female-fronted, confessional indie rock that’s been in vogue the past few years. I have several theories on that—some backed by psychological evidence—but the newest album from Seattle’s Deep Sea Diver falls squarely in that mold and has also really struck a chord with me. Vocally, I feel frontwoman Jessica Dobson most closely sounds like Indigo de Souza, yet hers is more powerful and backed by a more anthemic indie rock sound. Songs like ‘Tiny Threads’ and ‘Let Me Go’ certainly sound that way. This is the band’s first record on Sub Pop, and one of two nights at the Empty Bottle are already sold out—frankly, it’s not hard to imagine an accelerating ascent to similar heights as contemporaries like Michelle Zauner and Lucy Dacus from here.
Purely theoretically speaking, at some point the archives of 80s and 90s guitar-based music from New Zealand have to be exhausted. The stream of newly uncovered and reissues works just has to stop at some point. Nevertheless, Leather Jacket have another peak Flying Nun jangle pop record for you. This live recording of quintet all fall down shows them burning bright before they succumbed to nominative determinism, folding some 60s psych influence into the mix that would later come (back) into vogue in other parts of the Anglosphere. It’s not exactly revolutionary, but the quality is unmistakable, and it’s well worth a spin to refresh your memory of how good this style of music is.
As I continue to try to manage the deluge of releases in my inbox that exceed my capacity to listen to them all, I’m trying to pull some of the most promising or exciting stuff first. ‘Kali Malone reissues and remasters The Sacrificial Code’ obviously got pushed to the front of the queue. It’s been (only) 6 years since the initial release, which I listen to sparingly to help retain its mystique and power in addition to the emotional significance it holds for me, so I can’t really say what difference there is between this and the original. Nevertheless, I’m sure that was important and meaningful to do, and any reason to listen to this again or for the first time is always appreciated.
As a longtime post-punk aficionado, I am hardly phased by ludicrously bad band names whose SEO quality is just above shooting yourself in the foot. Local group Indica II have, somehow, managed to top (bottom?) other contenders in this realm. Perhaps it’s just them keeping a low profile for now and letting the music talk instead. This album-length EP hearkens back to 70s-era Kosmische, slowly developing sounds, not exactly in a rush but getting to their destination steadily nonetheless; I imagine they’ll be a good guest at a future Humboldt Arboreal Society shindig or a name to consider in place of Bitchin Bajas when filling out local show undercards. I’m more of a sativa/hybrids person myself but for those who need a bit of Stimmung to go with their mood music, this does the trick.
St. Louis lo-fi outpost Rotten Apple recently treated us to this wonderful gem of ramshackle indie rock from Indianapolis’s good flying birds. Charmingly rough around the edges, the hooks are solid, and you can easily imagine the group tearing up a DIY space near you after a couple of PBRs. It’s always a delightful listen when I’ve put it on in recent days.
If I wasn’t committed to standalone releases and at least some friction in my listening experiences, I imagine I would be quite fond of what I assume is the endless bounty of dance music mixes available for streaming on YouTube. I’m sure many of them lean heavily on 90s golden era IDM or imitations of the genre, and Philadelphia producer Eev Frances’s work would fit in well with that. What makes her work stand out are the modern textures and palettes with which she works. It’s noticeable but subtle, and a bit hard to articulate beyond that, and probably what I find compelling about this body of work over those (including, yes, some of those IDM classics). This ain’t your uncle’s IDM, is what I’m trying to say here.
Shapeshifting bass producer Bruce inaugurates his Poorly Knit label with a 7” of his own productions. I generally think of the project as “serious”, but A-side ‘The Price’ is genuinely funny, with a groove whose name is on the tip of my tongue before the track descends into pure chaos. ‘Mimicry’ on the B-side is more restrained, but it’ll still take an adventurous DJ to attempt to play it out. The whole thing is over far too soon in my estimation, so hopefully there’s more to come soon from Bruce as he shows off yet another side to his art.
Maloya has fascinated me as a genre since learning about it a few years ago. Based on percussion and drone in 6/8, French colonial authorities attempted to suppress the genre on Réunion island. Here, Jako Maron recruited several bobre players to form the base of these tracks, combining them with razor-sharp drum machine work for a synthesis that brings the genre into the contemporary era c/o Africa’s leading experimental dance outpost Nyege Nyege. You’re unlikely to encounter something as unique as this anywhere else.
I was chatting with a friend at a show last night who’d been to Brazil recently, and we talked a bit about the seemingly random connections between the country and different spots in Europe. I guess that speaks to our ignorance of modern Brazil, but I suppose it’s not surprising that some people from a nation of 200+ million end up in spots you may not expect. I guess it’s also not surprising then that a label of mystical electronics like Liga Do Vento Divino would exist there. The closest parallel I can think of is Germany’s Bureau B, and like that label it’s an intriguing rabbit hole to go down through and keep an eye on.
Brian Foote has capably guided the kranky and Peak Oil labels during his career. Shortly after spinning up False Aralia, he has launched another label FO that continues exploring dub and ambient descendant sounds. I’m not entirely sure what differentiates PO from FA from FO at this point, but the latter label kicks off with a half-hour of music by veteran London trio rest symbol. The term ‘liminal’ springs to mind when listening, as does Burial were he deconstructing trip-hop instead of garage and 2-step. The murk awaits.
In a similar vein as Eev Frances’s record above, Marina Zispin’s new one doesn’t reinvent the wheel. But Bianca Scout and Martyn Reid’s coldwave/dream pop hybrids are a step or two in quality above other acts making similar material in their bedrooms or home studios. I wanna say it’s the dissonant undercurrents to the music that keeps things a bit messy and intriguing where other groups run their quantized tracks into the ground. Dim the lights, change into an all-black outfit and let this record carry you into the goth realm for a spell.
Sydney producer Cousin continues their—well, it’s hard to call dub techno ‘hot’, unless you mean like a blue flame, aesthetically—streak of phenomenally understated numbers with this LP. It’s a groovy, deep listen like their previous records. If you’re still jamming last year’s Loidis record and haven’t given this one consideration yet, fix that immediately.
The Quietus turned me on to this post/art-rock record from Chilean upstarts Hesse Kassel, comparing them to Godspeed You! Black Emperor and early Black Country, New Road. That’s obviously enough to get my attention, and while neither of those feel like inappropriate touchpoints, they don’t fully hit the mark in my book. The ambient-pastoral sweep to many of these songs is probably better represented by other post-rock acts, and the barking urgency to many of the vocals isn’t exactly the same as Issac Wood’s agony. (Admittedly, the guitar work is similar to BC,NR’s.) I hear the work of Mexico City’s Diles que no me maten in here the most, with a similar art-rock grandeur as both groups find their footing. This record no doubt deserves greater attention than having it on in the background, and someone who can get more than the gist from the lyrics as well. Despite these gripes, it’s well worth your time as the runtime itself reaches epic lengths.
Well, at 13 records I’m going to call this issue #82 of Crow’s Nest. Thank you again for reading, and like I always say, I hope you found something enjoyable within. Keep on hating hanging in there through everything going on.
Lotsa great stuff to dig into here! Friday’s weather was just what we all needed. ‘Course, it was all gone too soon…