Memoryhouse >> I'm not breathing without machines

Memoryhouse - "Lately (Deuxième)" (a.k.a. just "Lately")

(Beko DSL, 2009 [digital single] [France] / Arcade Sound Ltd., 2009 [digital-only EP] [Canada] / Inflated Records, 2010 [ltd. 7"], Sub Pop Records, 2011 [re-recorded CD-EP])

Memoryhouse barged into the crowded field of female-fronted dream-pop bands like a 4WD Ford F-550 dualie with Truck Nutz plowing into a herd of quail or endangered salamanders on an organic commune.  By using a low speaking voice instead of a shout at a loud party, it's often easier for one's voice to be heard, and Memoryhouse got noticed by doing essentially the same thing.  They're an example of the occasional good band that is propelled to star status by the indie music blogs and review sites, whilst getting basically zero notice from actual music magazines.  Chalk one up for new media over old media.  I really think this is one of the most important bands out there today, but unfortunately they often get dismissed as the poor man's Beach House, which is laughable.  Yes, both bands are on Sub Pop, both are boy-girl duos making depressive, dreamy music, and both have names ending in "House," but Beach House have a different, more "masculine," non-spacey, almost campy, "Euro-friendly" sound, in my opinion.  I think of their quiet stuff as just segues in between their singer's throaty bellowing, whereas for Memoryhouse the quiet stuff is the framework of everything.  I think everyone can agree that Beach House has no ties to the "chillwave" trend, whereas Memoryhouse does.  This is one of those songs that really re-established my love of music in the often dreary modern musical climate.

Original 2009/10 version:

2011 re-recording:

Mash 'em up!
Note: I will be taking down the Sub Pop version after a certain amount of time.

Yes, this song has been released by four different labels so far, though the first two are digital-only "labels," so I don't know if they count.  The Sub Pop re-recording has more prominent (DEVASTATING) piano, an ultra-powerful vocal performance, and, to top it all off, the addition of some amazingly nuanced violin.  It also has less of that thumping chillwave beat that's in the '09 version. Confusingly, the original version is subtitled "Deuxième," which is French for "Second."  So there must've been an earlier (still unreleased) version, which means the Sub Pop re-recording is actually a third version.  Got that?  Overall, it might be the best re-recording I've ever heard, and it almost singlehandedly rescues Sub Pop from the abyss of irrelevance.  (Easiest way to tell which one you have: The original version is 3:23 long and the Sub Pop one is 4:05.)

I don't know if this song is comparing having a broken heart to being on life support in a hospital, but one has to assume that it is.  When Denise distantly pleads "Shut me off," it has to be one of the most devastating lines ever uttered in any song.  Denise pretty much has a built-in Autotune in her throat, which makes her singing very unique, kind of like that of Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval.  They each like to split individual syllables into different discrete parts.  Rob Dickinson of Catherine Wheel is my favorite at this technique, used to particularly stunning effect on their debut album Ferment (which is my #2 favorite album ever).  This way of singing gives the vocals a cool stop-motion effect, like you're listening to an old movie reel with a hitch in it.  Evan Abeele's guitar playing is cinematic and pastel-like, and I think both he and Denise play synths on the song.  The music video does not feature Denise or Evan:

With only one digital EP and one 7" to their name, the 'House hit the pavement hard in 2010 on an ambitious headlining tour of indie clubs:

In August of that very annum, my sister & I saw them at One Eyed Jacks in New Orleans, with opening acts Twin Sister and a new local band called Kindest Lines.  Partly due to a thunderstorm and extreme heat, the turnout was quite low, maybe 40 or so people, but it was great to see the 'Mem rock a club with a large stage and a top-notch sound system.  They had a third member in tow on electric bass.  Denise seemed bored and distant, looking at the ceiling a lot, and she never once said anything to the crowd.
I bought the "Lately" 7" on limited colored vinyl at this show from members of Twin Sister who were manning the merch table; it's obviously one of the finest singles I've ever bought.  The b-side is a nicely trippy, deconstructed, chillwavey remix by Teengirl Fantasy.  I pretty much went to that show just to see them perform this song, and it was worth trekking into the heart of the French Quarter on this ridiculously hot / stormy / humid night.  I had my sister film "Lately," but she can't find the clip anywhere.  Sorry.  She also lost her clip of Twin Sister doing a tremendous rendition of "The Other Side Of Your Face."

iPhone pic by my sister, near the start of their set.

My 7" bought at the 2010 show; too bad it's not on black vinyl for better sound quality.  Yes, I like the "Dutch Angle" photo technique.
Notice the nearly-identical color scheme / photo treatment / clothing on the cover of their 2012 album.

Some of this song's vocals (pitch-shifted higher) were sampled in the downtempo / dream-rap (er, "cloud rap," as Generation Z calls it) song "Breaking" by a one-off supergroup called Seeing Suge.

Facebook users band together to exile Pitbull to Alaskan WalMart - “I’ve known Pitbull for a few years now, and he’s up for a party – whether it’s around the corner, or you have to get there by three planes and a boat in between, as I understand it takes to get to Kodiak.”

Planets with similar climates: Slowdive - "Losing Today" (1991), Julee Cruise - "Falling" (1989), Low - "I Remember" (original 7" version) (1998), Velour 100 - "Stare Into Light" (1996), Chairlift - "Cool As A Fire" (2011), Ella Fitzgerald - "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" (1961), Yo La Tengo - "Damage" (1997), Red House Painters - "Drop" (1995), Portishead - "Roads" (1994).

Loquat >> I spent my time falling down the stairs

California Month, tremor #7:

Loquat - "Swingset Chain"

(Dreams By Degrees, 2001)

Any fan of ambitious, bittersweet pop music will be floored upon his or her first listen to this song, from the San Francisco group's 10" EP called Fall.

Fall came out in 2002, but, if I remember correctly, the song was recorded in 2001.  The band rerecorded it for their 2005 debut album, but I think that version sapped a lot of the song's dynamics and sense of wonder from it, so stick with this version.  The EP also has a very futuristic, nifty remix of "S.C." by some dudes(?) named Atomix And Spindly.  (AllMusic Guide disagreed: "Sadly, the EP is rounded up with a house remix of 'Swingset Chain.'  Predictable and almost offensive in the context of what came before it, it shatters all the playful charm of the original."  Oh, loosen up.)
 Kylee Swensen's voice is so infuriatingly pristine and perfect in every way, and it just dominates the song in every way without coming off as showboating.  She would have been one hell of a jazz singer in another era.  I interviewed them by email in early '03 for my old zine, and a little while later Kylie emailed me back to tell me they'd just put out a music video for the song, which made me feel psyched that they'd soon be storming the indie charts, then playing arenas and whatnot.  It's pretty much just some live clips stitched together, but hey, at least it's a music video:

This song apparently got used in a fuckload of TV shows, including One Tree Hill, and was included as a free download with some national brand of memory card (a brilliant marketing coup), but the band never became well-known outside of California.  The song has inspired lots of cringeworthy amateur cover versions on YouTube, so it's apparently become a cult favorite, which is the main thing I ever wanted for it.  It's truly one of the best songs of its genre ever made, and it deserves to be up there with the classics by The Sundays, Fleetwood Mac, and The Smiths.  (Loquat did an interesting synth-y cover of "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" in 2003.)  The melodic twists and turns are just spellbinding, and the inscrutable lyrics like "It rained a hundred nineteen days of the year / I spent my time falling down the stairs" and "You're a dandelion seed that flies through the years / And lands randomly, and disappears" and of course "The penny drop that broke her arm" are very cool.  You could write a thesis paper on these lyrics, no joke.  By the way, as I teased in my previous post, a loquat is a type of tree that makes a painfully sweet yellowish-orange fruit; it's also known as the Japanese plum tree, though it's not related to plums.  They're ubiquitous around here in the Southeast, but are not quite considered an invasive species, due to how slowly they grow.  It's pronounced "LOW-qwott," and is not related to the kumquat.

During a break in the rain from Tropical Storm Lee on 9/3/11, I was moving some of my cacti & succulents to more protected spots, and decided to do a group photo.  My camera didn't really focus properly b/c the humidity level was about 98%, sorry.

There are cacti, succulents, aloes, agaves (tequila plants), yuccas, and a dyckia (DEE-kee-yuh) in there. Not shown is a Mammillaria cactus that I've had for 13 years, because it's in New Orleans.

Planets with similar climates: The Sundays - "I Feel" (1992), Club 8 - "We Set Ourselves Free" (2002), Pale Saints - "Featherframe" & "Thread Of Light" (1992), Rainer Maria - "The Imperatives" (2002), The Cardigans - "Your New Cuckoo" (1996), The Delays - "Stay Where You Are" (2003), The Psychedelic Furs - "The Ghost In You" (1984).

Christian Scott >> Fear the whisper

Christian Scott - "Litany Against Fear"

(Concord Records, 2007)

Here's another track from my piano-favsies list.  It's the epic opening track to trumpeter Christian Scott's 2007 album Anthem.  (His 2006 album Rewind That also had an epic opening track, which I will post in the future.)  He's been on my radar for many years now, but I've only seen him live once, at Jazz Fest in 2010, where he was in the lead role in a tribute to Miles Davis called Tutu Revisited, accompanied by Marcus Miller and an all-star band.  It was the only reason I went that day, and yeah, it was pretty awesome.  (Update, 8/16/11: In response to the comment this post received about NOLA shunning C. Scott, I will point out that I have never seen any musician receive as many ovations, or ovations of such volume/fervor, as Scott got during that Jazz Fest '10 performance.  And it was even more impressive considering Marcus Miller was technically the headline artist of that group.)  Aside from that, he essentially never plays live here.  I have no idea why he has shunned his hometown so blatantly.  Can you at least give us an explanation, Christian?  In the meantime, I'll just be over here having my soul stirred by whatever the first song on your latest album is.

All About Jazz said:
"Anything but predictable, Anthem opens with Scott's dramatic "Litany Against Fear." The track takes on the characteristics of a Sunday sermon, starting off with penetratingly introspective blue notes, rising to rebellious anger, and then ending with a moment of peaceful resolution. The percussive playing of pianist Aaron Parks, the muscular sound of drummer Marcus Gilmore, the resonant bass lines of Esperanza Spaulding* [sic], and the explosive riffs of guitarist Matt Stevens blend masterfully with Scott's brooding lyricism.
Very much like his idol, Miles Davis, Scott has a very laidback style, but as is the case with so many players from New Orleans, he definitely possesses the ability to swing."


*Yes, the Esperanza Spalding, surprise winner of Best New Artist at this year's Grammys, the first-ever jazzbo to win it.
To understand how Scott gets those cool hushed tones on his trumpet, arguably even cooler and more hushed than those of, say, Miles Davis or Chet Baker, read this paragraph about his "whisper technique".

April 2010 issue.  I saw him this very month, and I would've bought this ish(ue) if I had known about it at the time.

Speaking of trumpeters with cool, hushed tones, I mentioned getting a Chet Davis CD retrospective last month.  Here's the luridly effective opening page from the essay section of the booklet:

Hopefully Scott won't go down the road to drugs / ruin / mediocrity the way Chet and Miles did soon after their primes.  Maybe that's one of the reasons why he ditched NOLA in the first place?

A photo I took today of my Agave bracteosa (Squid Agave), which I've had for about 5 years, meaning it's about 7 years old:

It's in a 12" diameter pot.  This species is one of the few agaves (tequila plants) without vicious spines, and it's allegedly hardy down to 10º F, making it one of the hardiest agaves, hence everybody should own one.  It looks very wimpy, but the leaves are actually leathery and tough.

Planets with similar climates: Stanley Clarke - "Black On Black Crime" (from Boyz N The Hood), John Coltrane Quartet - "Wise One" (1964), Isotope 217 - "Beneath The Undertow" (2007), David S. Ware - "Aquarian Sound" (1992).

Michael Krassner >> Use your Aleutians

Michael Krassner - "Telegraph Hill"

(Atavistic Records, 1996)

This is another time-stoppingly haunting track from the Dutch Harbor: Where The Sea Breaks Its Back soundtrack; see previous post for more info if you missed it.  Gotta love the eerie samples of wind-ravaged surf in the background.  It kind of brings me back to the mid-'80s, on my dad's sailboat called the Green Toad* in San Francisco Bay, where the waves violently pound you nonstop, requiring the passengers to dart from one side of the boat to the other every few minutes/seconds in order to keep it from tipping over.  And the water is freezing cold year-round, not to mention a favorite haunt of great white sharks, and to top it off, the hulking corpse of Alcatraz is always looming in the background... Truly a miserable experience, but, as Calvin's dad always told him in Calvin & Hobbes, "It builds character."  Other than the sailboating thing, San Fran was absolute paradise to me.  Coincidentally, there's a famous Telegraph Hill in San Fran, the one with all the parrots which inspired a movie, but the one in this song title is apparently in Alaska.
*Our family's Buick sedan was called the Blue Bomb; my dad traded it for a bottle of wine ca. '85 before getting a Honda Accord and a GMC Jimmy.  He drove up to Oregon to get it because there's no sales tax there.  FWIW, today's Honda Civics are much bigger than that era's Honda Accords, since all American cars are incrementally getting bigger and more overpowered each model year in order to satisfy moronic American carbuyers, while people drive smaller and more efficient cars in Europe every year.  (The Civic is the Accord's little brother, if you didn't know.)  Despite its 90-or-so horsepower, that Accord was my favorite car to drive when I got my driver's license in March of '92, due to Honda's patented type of double wishbone suspension, which gives all Hondas / Acuras almost telepathically effortless steering.

As for this track, I've never seen a photo of Michael Krassner, but I can almost picture some gaunt, wild-haired guy sitting at a piano in a few feet of water on the Unalaska coastline in 30-below weather, plinking away at the ivories.  Astute readers will recall that this track was mentioned a few months ago in my National Skyline post, when I gave a list of my favorite piano performances.

Krassner put out a solo album in 1999, which is marred by Elliott Smith-y Sensitive Singer-Songwriter vocals and contains nothing like "Telegraph Hill," unfortunately.  He appears to be mainly a composer and/or producer.  In any case, here is hoping he does more of this minimalist piano stuff someday.  While I have indeed posted two tracks from this soundtrack, note that neither of them is by the main group (The Boxhead Ensemble) which did the majority of the album's music.  You'll have to just go get the album yourself to find out why I've raved about it so much.

Since your eyes need more Dutch Harbor-related imagery, here is a French DVD poster:

The one movie poster that out-pretentouses even the French

I recently dug up a slender 1978 tome that I've had for many years called Crazy Laws, by the unfortunately-named Dick Hyman.

I've almost given it away to thrift stores many a time, but each time I skim through it I am engulfed by a white-hot desire to keep it for a little longer.  Here are some highlights:

• "In Tennessee, you can't shoot any game other than whales from a moving automobile."

• "It is unlawful to throw coal at another person in Harlan, Kentucky -- if the size of the lump exceeds three inches."

• "Lions may not be taken to the theater in Maryland."

• "In Garfield County, Montana, it is ordered that no one shall draw funny faces on window shades."

• "In Georgia, it is unlawful to slap a man on the back."

• "Unrestrained giggling is forbidden on the streets of Helena, Montana."

• "It is unlawful in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, to remove icicles from buildings by taking potshots at them with a gun or rifle."

• "A Chicago law forbids eating in a place that is on fire."

• "In Lawrence, Kansas, you can't carry bees around in your hat on the city streets."

• "It is against the law to tickle a girl in Norton, Virginia."

• "In Memphis, it is against the law for a woman to drive a car unless there is a man either running or walking in front of the car waving a red flag to warn approaching motorists and pedestrians."

• "A Trenton, New Jersey, ordinance states that it is unlawful to throw any tainted pickles in the streets."
• "To catch a whale in the inland waters of the state of Oklahoma is contrary to law." [I think this is the only whale-related item you'd find there.]

• "In Tulsa, Oklahoma, you cannot open a pop bottle unless a licensed engineer is present."

• "It is illegal in Nebraska to picnic twice on the same spot within any thirty-day period."

• "In Wilbur, Washington, it is against the law for a person to ride upon the streets on an ugly horse." [Please, folks, no Amy Winehouse jokes... It's just too soon.]

• "Providence, Rhode Island, law forbids you to leap over local bridges."

• "International Falls, Minnesota, forbids cats to chase dogs up telephone poles."

• "Vermont says that a woman cannot walk down the street on a Sunday unless her husband walks twenty paces behind her with a musket on his shoulder."

• "It is against the law to speak English in Illinois."

• "In Glendale, Arizona, it is against the law for a car to back up." [Except over an "illegal" immigrant, presumably, considering AZ's immigration stance.]

• "Kansas makes it unlawful to eat snakes on Sunday."

• "The town of Brawley, California, passed a resolution forbidding snow within the city limits."

• "In Atlanta, the law forbids diaper service trucks from having horns that play 'Rock-A-Bye-Baby.'"

• "The law says you can't drive more than two thousand sheep down Hollywood Boulevard at one time."

• "In Illinois, Macomb makes it illegal for a car to impersonate a wolf."

• "In Muskogee, Oklahoma, there is an old city ordinance that states that no baseball team shall be allowed to hit the ball over the fence or out of the ball park."

• "A Georgia law prohibits persons from saying 'Oh, Boy' in Jonesboro."

• "Women in Joliet, Illinois, can be jailed for trying on more than six dresses in one store."

• "Beards more than two and a half feet long are forbidden by law in Altoona, Pennsylvania."  [Hear that, Brooklyn hipsters?  No more ironic field trips to Altoona for you.]

• "In Massachusetts, it is against the law to put tomatoes in clam chowder."

• "You can't say 'delinquency' on the streets of Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania."

• "In Winchester, Massachusetts, a young girl may not be employed to dance on a tightrope except in church."

Planets with similar climates: Harold Budd & Brian Eno - "Not Yet Remembered" & "The Plateaux Of Mirror" (1980), Roger Eno - "Whispering Gallery" (1994), Liz Story - "Speechless" (1988), Györgi Ligeti - "Musica Ricerata (Movement II)" (ca. 1951-53) (made famous in Eyes Wide Shut), (George Winston - "January Stars" (1982).


Currently eating or drinking: Stonefire Tandoori Naan flatbread; Mirassou 2009 California Pinot Noir; iChill Blissful Berry "relaxation shot".

Actual size; available at finer gas stations.

National Skyline >> You could disappear into thin air

National Skyline - "Ghosts" •/•/•/•

(File 13 Records, 2001) º/º/º/º

National Skyline began as a "supergroup" of Champaign / Urbana indie rock dudes in the mid-'90s, whose alleged goal was to write one 45-minute masterpiece song.  Apparently they actually recorded it in '97, but it was never released.  The group's core members were Jeff Garber (ex-Castor) on vocals, guitar and other stuff, and Jeff Dimpsey (ex-Hum) on bass and other stuff.  I think they've always used drum machines rather than real drumming.  Much like the band Idaho (see post on them from a few weeks ago), Nat Sky later was winnowed down to be essentially a one-man project, helmed by Garber.  He later joined Year Of The Rabbit as a guitarist, and fronted the short-lived but amazing band The Joy Circuit.  After years of silence on the Nat Sky front, he has revived the moniker and released a slew of music in the last four or so years.  Garber is pretty much a musical genius in my mind, or at least a master of amazing melodies.  "I love you in the shape of swirling gas" is one of the most strangely romantic lyrics ever written.

I love how the song starts off with just a primitive, muffled drum sample and minimalist, almost womblike keyboards, and then come in the vocals, then louder, more complex drum machine beats, then piano.  The combination of slow vocals and relatively fast beats messes up the brain's ability to keep time.  Lots of Nat Sky songs have incredible guitar parts (especially "Reinkiller"), but this one is so rock-solid and perfect that it doesn't even need any axe.  My only complaint about it is that Garber doesn't unleash his celestially gorgeous falsetto voice in it, as he does on, say, "A Night At The Drugstore" or "Air."  This song is from the 2001 EP Exit Now, which also features the absolutely staggering 12-minute shoegaze-tronic space-drone-noize opus "Karolina II."

Exit Now

National Skyline were famous for the elaborate light show at their concerts and for their obsession with sonic detail.  They once arrived at a club which had booked them for a show, checked out its sound system, decided it wasn't up to snuff, and then simply left.  If I had gone to that show I would've been pretty furious, but, eh... rock stars.
I obtained this EP, and the band's incredible debut album This = Everything, from download service eMusic in 2003, back when you had unlimited downloads, so I just downloaded untold hundreds of albums, ending up with only a few diamonds in the rough.  After becoming completely obsessed with Nat Sky that summer, I later bought both of those releases on actual CD, for a dollar each on eBay.  I vividly remember blasting this song as loud as my truck's stereo would go while surveying the damage in New Orleans' City Park a few weeks after Katrina, as though it would somehow make the trees grow back and make people feel more optimistic.  To be more specific, I was standing on the empty golf course (I've never played golf in my life) by Tad Gormley stadium while my Suburban was parked on the street next to it, playing this song.  No one else was there, in this normally-crowded park.  I had lost my sweet little '94 Integra in the flood, so my dad passed on his big lumbering '95 Suburban to me.  It had a significantly more powerful stereo, as well as a CD player.  The Integra only had a tape deck, which is part of the reason why I have amassed so many cassettes.

Jeff Garber

This song's piano solo, beginning at about 3:30, is the most stunning one I have ever heard.  I could live in it.  It is surely the most heart-stoppingly beautiful thing ever created, and my entire body still gets covered in goosebumps whenever I hear it.  You should see me play every note of it with absolute precision while driving.  (Yes, using both hands.)  The piano in this song slightly edges out the piano in:
"Lloyd's Register" by Rachel's
"When The Winter's Gone (Song For A Stranger)" by David Benoit & Jennifer Warnes
"Frou-frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires" by Cocteau Twins
"1/1" by Brian Eno & Robert Wyatt
"Chloe Dancer" by Mother Love Bone
"The Cutting Edge" by The Comsat Angels
"Litany Against Fear" by Christian Scott
"Telegraph Hill" by Michael Krassner (Boxhead Ensemble)
"Swingset Chain" by Loquat
"October" by U2
"February Sea" by George Winston
"We Float" by PJ Harvey (piano by PJH & Rob Ellis)
"Speechless" by Liz Story

On the topic of ghosts, I've always been an atheist, and always will be, but I believe in ghosts / spirits / souls and the like, including the concept of "guardian angels," since I believe I was saved from a car crash in Nov. '07 by one.  Blah blah, just listen to the song again.  But after that near-crash, I drove over to, guess where... City Park... and sat in my car under the oaks and thought about a lot of things for a few hours.

Exit Now

Note: "Ghosts" (as well as "Karolina II") was included as a bonus track on the Japanese CD edition of This = Everything, on a label called Stiff Slack.

I've recently really gotten into the song "Regret" by New Order, to the point where I sing it to myself constantly, and a week ago found & bought the CD single for $2, and today even heard it in a Lowe's, so in order to get it to quit stalking me, here it is:

I'd say it's their second-best song, after "Shell Shock":

Obviously, National Skyline, at least in their early-'00s incarnation, were quite influenced by New Order.  I never really took New Order seriously, but like I said, I've recently been giving them more of a chance and am starting to understand why they were so mega-influential.

As for Casey Anthony being found not guilty today, someone on TV right afterwards (I think Jane Velez-Mitchell) pointed out something very interesting, which is that America hates to execute celebrities, or even to send them to prison.  I then thought about the fact that we (by which I mean the overwhelming majority of Americans who wanted to see her get the death penalty) all unwittingly made this anonymous skeezer into a star by the simple fact that we followed her case for three years and put her on countless magazine covers.  So we unwittingly saved her life, even though we all wanted the opposite.  If we hadn't paid so much attention to the case, she would've been more likely to have been found guilty.  D'oh.

Casey throwin' up what is presumably a failed Wesside.  The only way this
photo could be any more white trash would be if that were an Ed Hardy shirt.

This photo brings to mind only one song... No, not ELO's "Evil Woman," silly... I am referring to Billy Reid's "White Chicks And Gang Signs":

Planets with similar climates: The Comsat Angels - "The Cutting Edge" (1986), Radiohead - "Fake Plastic Trees" (1995), Over The Rhine - "Jacksie" (~1990), Verve - "On Your Own" (1995), Bark Psychosis - "Absent Friend" (1993), Mogwai w/ Aidan Moffat - "R U Still In 2 It?" (1997), Ova Looven - "Invisible Triangle" (2003), Placebo - "Without You I'm Nothing" (1998).


Currently enjoying the concept of: Motorcyclist Dies On Ride Protesting Helmet Law In New York
This reminded me of the time Flavor Flav, who at the time was fresh off the success of the single "911 Is A Joke" with Public Enemy, one of the few songs of theirs on which he sang lead, got in a car wreck and had to call 911 to come save his ass.

Bark Psychosis >> You stand apart with the sinking sunlight

☵☵ Bark Psychosis - "The Loom" ☵☵

☰ (Caroline Records / Circa Records, 1993) ☰

From one Hex to another...

The term "post-rock" was literally coined to describe this album, specifically by Simon Reynolds of Mojo magazine in his review in the March '94 issue.  Yes, this is what post-rock originally denoted, and other bands that got the tag back then included Long Fin Killie, Seefeel, The Sea And Cake, and A.R. Kane, none of whom would remotely be considered post-rock by today's lowered standards.  Sometime in the early '00s, it began meaning strictly instrumental music that had lots of aggressive climaxes.  I think this song illustrates perfectly the difference between "real" post-rock and "fake" post-rock.  The twos band that, above all others, led to the exploding popularity of fake post-rock are Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky.  The introduction of metal-style guitar was the death knell of the genre, in my opinion*.  Check out the instrumentation on Hex: guitar, bass,  drums, vocals, piano, melodica, triangle, flute, trumpet, Hammond organ, djembe, violin, viola, cello, and some samples/programming.  Compare that to what most post-Mogwai post-rockers use: guitar, bass, drums. It was also very important in the early days to use dubby, hypnotic basslines, which lent gravity to the often amorphous or nebulous song structures.  Obviously, Bark Psychosis did not invent this style out of thin air; many critics have pointed out how indebted they are to Talk Talk's last two LPs, though Hex is way better than either of those, in my opinion.
*Ironically/amazingly, Bark Psychosis actually began as a teenage thrash metal band with a fondness for Napalm Death covers.  Maybe this is what allowed them to get the whole juvenile metal thing out of their systems at a young age.  For me, the metal thing pretty much ended on the day I bought Pantera's new album the day it came out (May 7, 1996), as I'd sadly also done with their previous album (March 22, 1994), and realized how lame it was compared to all the indie/underground stuff I that I was discovering at the time.  I'm not sure why it took me two bad Pantera albums in a row to come to this realization...

Wikipedia has an interesting section about the difficult recording of Hex here.

I bought this CD at Tower Records in New Orleans on a summer night in '04, and I remember having been surprised to even find it on the racks, since I'd heard it had gone out of print 5 or more years earlier.  I stuck "Big Shot" onto a Miles Davis mix CD for my sister the next spring, since there were a few spare minutes at the end that I had to fill in.  I got my second copy of this CD at a WTUL record fair in March '11, sold by a guy who was a DJ for them in the late '80s.  Now this is one ultra-cool station, a station that was my go-to source for innovative music from the mid-'90s to the mid-'00s, and it was voted college radio station of the year by the Gavin Report in 1996, so you'd think he'd recognize the inherent significance, scarcity, and flat-out greatness of this album, and that he'd therefore sell it for a decent sum, right?  It was in his two-for-a-dollar bin.  I'm telling all this because I originally had not planned on ever posting anything from this album, thinking it was so popular that most of the people who would venture over here had surely already heard it.  But I guess it's really one of those albums that many people have read about, but few have actually heard.

A pic of the album's official promo poster, which I swiped from eBay many years ago; the text is a quote
from Melody Maker's review: "We're not just talking alternative music, we're talking alternative medicine."

To read a long and illuminating interview with Bark Psychosis frontman Graham Sutton, go here.  It's taken from this thing called Audrie's Diary from 1994, which was a 7" record plus a square 7-by-7-inch zine.  I own it; unfortunately, the record itself doesn't have a B-Psy song on it.

Planets with similar climates: Talk Talk - "The Rainbow" (1988), A.R. Kane - "Green Hazed Daze" (1988), American Music Club - "In The Shadow Of The Valley" (1994), Auburn Lull - "Desert" (1999), The Comsat Angels - "Pictures" (1982), Jeff Buckley - "Dream Brother" (1993), Plexi - "Faith Is" (1995).