Examples of Excellent New Music: Part 2

[Currently reading The Fold by Gilles Deleuze]

Preface: This is (the first half of the) second part of the 'Examples of Excellent New(ish) Music' feature, and will focus solely on five records from 2008 thus making the prefix '(ish)' is rather unnecessary.

11. Thurston Moore: Sensitive/Lethal
2008, No Fun Productions

The fact that Thurston Moore's new record stands in stark contrast to his previous one, Trees Outside the Academy, which was a fun and fresh slab of pop and alternative rock, makes Thurston Moore all the more exciting. Moore's new record, Sensitive/Lethal, which was released on No Fun Productions, is an exquisite, 3-track piece of work (consisting of 20-something minute tracks "Sensitive" and "Lethal" with a 4-minute filler called "Lonesome") that explores the acoustic guitar as a noise instrument. Donning a Merzbow t-shirt for a photo-shoot for Sonic Youth's most recent studio-album, Rather Ripped, it's no surprise to hear bits of pieces influenced by the king of noise, but it's also evident that it's influenced by contemporary underground noise scenes (which became apparent to me after reading Thurston Moore and Bryan Coley's monthly column on underground music called "Bull Tongue" in Arthur Magazine, which is extremely comprehensive).

Here's the first part of the record, "Sensitive":

You can pick up the record from No Fun Productions for twelve or fifteen dollars (depending on where you live), which includes postage, so step on it!

12. Fuck Buttons: Street Horrrsing
2008, ATP Recordings

In an interview with Rock-A-Rolla, reading Andrew Hung speak about his creative intentions for the duo that also includes Benjamin John Power made me forget about their completely ridiculous name that is Fuck Buttons. The extremely warm reception their debut record, Street Horrrsings, has received in addition to their appearance at Portishead-curated ATP Festival and Pitchfork Festival have boosted them up in the eyes of the public, making them one of the most popular noise, drone, experimental duos of the 'underground'. In addition to rave reviews from Pitchfork and Rock-A-Rolla, Fuck Buttons' Street Horrrsing has also received a bit of negative light from people who claim that it's an accessible, watered down version of some of the more heavy weights of noise and drone. While I can certainly see where this argument comes from, I think it's misleading because Street Horrrsing, while definitely revealing throughout the course of the album that it takes keys and points here and there from different artists, it is rather an exciting and fresh take on these influences, which have been mashed together to form something great. It's not strong all around (I'd point to "Bright Tomorrow", a pseudo-trance meets drone cut as being the weakest cut off the album), but when it hits, it hits strongly. Also of note is the fact that this record was recorded by John Cummings of Mogwai and mastered by Bob Western of Shellac. Check out the opening track, "Sweet Love For Planet Earth" below:

13. Pocahaunted: Island Diamond
2008, Not Not Fun Records

As you can see in one of my previous posts on this blog, Thurston Moore gave the Christine Carter/Pocahaunted split on No Not Fun his number one spot on his top 40 from 2007. If that, in addition to the fact that Pocahaunted have opened for Thuston Moore and Sonic Youth on a number occasions doesn't tickle your fancy, then I don't know what will. Island Diamonds is the first proper full-length released by Pocahaunted, the noise, ambient, drone and psychedelic duo of Bethany and Amanda. And it's a fantastic one at that, but the fact that it only consists of four tracks makes you water at the mouth for more. In that case, I'd recommend tracking down their lengthy catalogue of self-released material and splits. Here's "Ashes Is White", the first track off Island Diamonds (notice how you can hear hissing at the beginning of the track, it's because Pocahaunted are at large an analogue band who like to release on cassette, perhaps because of its primitive qualities):

14. Steve Reich: Daniel Variations
2008, Nonesuch Records

Steve Reich's latest work, Daniel Variations, which was released on Nonesuch Records earlier this year is a momentous piece of work. Inspired by the murder of American journalist and violinist Daniel Pearl, it is also perhaps Reich's most political work. Consisting of a series of pieces featuring the London Sinfonietta, which sometimes involve some chorale work, Reich continues to explore the deeper workings of minimalism. Steve Reich says of Daniel Variations:

Daniel Variations is a homage to someone who stands beautifully and grotesquely at the same time as a symbol of thousands of innocent victims who was murdered, while trying to really give a fair shake to all concerned. In that sense I am very proud of that. So win, lose or draw in terms of the reaction to the piece, I'm glad I did it. And I hope that the family likes it. And I hope Danny likes it. And I sure hope Gabriel likes my music.

Here is the track "My Name is Daniel Pearl":

15. Nadja: Desire in Uneasiness
2008, Crucial Blast

Nadja's Desire in Uneasiness is perhaps one of my favorite records that have been released this year. If you look around this blog you can see that I have an affinity for drone-based music, especially when it is done in a way that is new and refreshing. Desire in Uneasiness is exactly that, a totally captivating piece of work that borders on the generic conventions of sludge, drone-doom metal, post-rock and shoegaze (or "metalgaze", if you will) featuring long drawn out layers and textures of sound supported by minimalist drumming in the vein of Melvins or Earth. Nadja and Aidan Baker have been prolifically releasing a substantial amount of material this year. Following on from Desire in Uneasiness, Nadja released a strictly limited full-length titled The Bungled and the Botched on ConSouling Sounds.

Here is the track "Affective Fields":

Note: Part 2.5 of 'Examples of Excellent New Music' will come in the next couple of weeks (i.e. ca. late August) and will continue to focus on material that has been released in 2008.