The Carbonas – Self Titled (Goner Records, 2007)
There’s no reason to dissect this – there are no ulterior motives. And I would guess that if I did, the dudes in the band would think that I was some sort of ass (which I am). However, this obviously does fall into the Ramonsey category of punk. The Carbonas are what one should expect from a Goner Records band: tight (and simple) songs with hooks. Both these qualities are on display in “Journey to the End” which includes the couplet “I hear what you’re saying/You’re talking ‘bout me”. Injected with a bit of Southern-drawl, the line leaves little wanting, even if the bridge is rote punk. I do think that there’s some harmonizing on “Didn’t Tell You a Lie”, which is probably a lie about a lie, but whose keeping track. A point to be made though is that if one started this disc in the middle, the listener might not readily realize that something had been missed. Each song is roughly the same tempo and sports the same structure – that’s not a criticism, that’s a description. The one criticism (in addition to the kinda bitchy one about why there need to be five dudes to play this) put upon this quintet is that this “album” is about 20 minutes long. Maybe that’s all they could muster, but since it flies by so quickly, I suppose that’s a good sign.
Tracklisting:
01 – Phone Booth
02 – Journey To The End
03 – Didn’t Tell You A Lie
04 – Don’t Know Why
05 – I’m A Schizo
06 – Hate You
07 – Trapped in Hell
08 – Frustrate Me
09 – Assvogel
I Heart Lung: The New Pop
Noise is the new pop. With the advancement of Ecstatic Peace, Thurston Moore’s new album being deemed excellent despite its deviance from the classic SY sound, Parts and Labor finding gigs for three plus years as well as the sought after Lightning Bolt vinyl releases being sold used on E-bay for the same price they were when new, all point to this love of noise. Even Mission of Burma got back together for an album and a tour.
L.A.’s I Heart Lung don’t sit perfectly in this category of noise, yet they aren’t a jazz duo, nor rock. And if one were to ask about genre, either guitarist Chris Schlarb or drummer Tom Steck might guffaw that question, look off dreamily into the distance and wish that it wasn’t even asked.
Between the two that make up I Heart Lung, label boss Schlarb seems to have the more extensive musical history. Even though Steck claims to have been “ a closet drummer for about 20 years”, he wasn’t able to become involved in musically interacting with others , but he knew he’d work well with Schlarb.
“I had been a huge fan of Create (ed. a previous project of Shclarb’s), and Chris’ way of playing. I knew that we would be great together, because we approached our instruments in the same spirit. There was a fortuitous event with performance artist Murray McMillian which employed 12 improvising musicians, of which we were both selected. I knew that that would be my chance, and the synergy that followed came as naturally as I knew it would.”
Past projects of Schlarb’s range in scope from Castanets and Bizzart to the Vanishing Voice and solo guitar outings, like his impending Twilight and Ghost Stories on Asthmatic Kitty. But perhaps due to this combination, veteran on the scene and veteran behind the scenes, I Heart Lung works.
Of course there are difficult passages to get through on their latest release, Between Them a Forrest Grew Trackless and Quiet. Even though the duo has gotten press from the likes of All About Jazz and some other high brow scribes, the inclusion of this group in a conversation about a specific idiom may be confounding. Now, there is horn present on this album, navigated by Peter Chan, but does that make for easy categorization? Schlarb explains:
“Well I took to calling what we do “drone-jazz” but that’s a pretty vapid explanation. In some ways I think we are still looking into it. We never talked about what the group could or would become and Tom and I have a very natural way of playing with each other. I think our sense of rhythm is strikingly similar and that leads to some interesting passages of syncopation. Likewise, neither of us are traditional jazz musicians. We’re both musical bastards making bastard music.”
Bastard music, unlike that of Les Claypool’s (ed. see Suck on This), still garners a fan base. Even a small group of people can voraciously support and devour every exertion of effort by a band.
“We toured the country in 2005 and played almost 30 shows in as many days. We had the pleasure of playing at Tonic in New York which was a joy for both Tom and myself. We have toured subsequently albeit more modestly.”
With this kind of network set up and theoretically repeatable, Steck ruminates, “it seems the venues are shrinking. And let’s not pretend that there is any money in any of this.”
He’s correct, there isn’t monetary reward in playing free music. Again, to broadly group IHL into a category rife with jazzbos, Albert Ayler saw little or no fame during his lifetime, only to have his back catalog re-issued and highly sought out. But with the majesty of the internet, bands may have an easier time gaining fan and media attention.
Recently, a release from the Sounds Are Active label, which is run by guitarist Chris Schlarb, has garnered a bit of comment from musical pundits. “I’m glad Thurston and Byron (Coley) enjoyed the film. I don’t want to be presumptuous but I think perhaps they saw the film in the continuum of underground music and were able to connect with it on a historical level.”
The film Schlarb refers to is 40 Bands/80 Minutes. Performances are turned in by a variety of bands from the LA scene, but each is only given a two minute window in which to perform.
“Sean Carnage was the sole impetus behind the event that led to the film. He has been on the front lines of the L.A.underground music scene for years now and is a true maverick. I knew a few of the other musicians from years of band-hopping but most of the bands in the film were completely new to me at the time of the event and during the making of the film,” Schlarb continued.
Despite the fact that such a large number of bands, including I Heart Lung, performed, there is a certain amount of similarity that runs almost to the point of sameness. Can L.A., thought of as a haven of new musics and individuality, have spawned and encouraged so many like minded bands?
“In some ways it’s easy to see variations on themes after you get half-way in. However, to say they all sound the same would be to ignore a number of truly individual acts,” Schlarb points out.
He’s also pretty quick to single out HEALTH, engaged with a US tour as we speak. Schlarb makes a good point. HEALTH’s adherence to more jangley sections throughout their work, as well as a mono-tone delivery and a focus on simplistic repetition as opposed to theatrical, metallic/post-hardcore guitar parts, or just plain noise, does set them apart. But not by too much. Not in the same manner that I Heart Lung stands out from this performance DVD.
It is possible that amongst the many reasons that IHL stand out from other L.A. area bands on the DVD and beyond is the fashion in which the duo work to create their sound. The preparation that goes towards any effort of this duo might hedge towards a valid elucidation of how these excursions are created. Not to beat a dead, or dying genre, but the team of Teo Macero and Miles Davis pioneered a musical concept that basically necessitated re-thinking music. By improvisationally performing (or jamming) with a group Davis ended up creating hours upon hours of music that simply could not be released. Together, Macero and Davis began editing down sections of these epic explorations into more concise segments. Throughout the early and mid-seventies, the album output of Davis continued growing, until eventually he became a ghost and disappeared due to circumstances too intricate to delve into. But without question, his playing has left indelible marks on more musicians than not, in one way or another. When confronted with the question of, would I Heart Lung function with this type of recording process, each player took different a stance.
“I have never thought of what Tom and I do as jamming but that’s a matter of personal semantics I suppose. I actually think the set up of I Heart Lung prohibits a kind of “jam” mentality: you can’t sit on a chord progression and churn out pentatonic scales with a rhythm section holding down a grove or harmonic structure.”
“Because it’s just drums and guitar we have to move constantly. Very rarely do I feel comfortable when performing because I subconsciously assume the responsibilities of a non-existent band.”
“Our next album, Interoceans, has turned into a more Macero-like project however. We have been working on expanding and reducing a number of studio recordings for almost two years. My hope is that we’ll be done by years end.”
Taking Schlarb’s tempered response into consideration, the emotion and brevity in Steck’s answer points to the concept of opposites pushing each other towards new frontiers that neither expects.
Steck begins, “Editing after a musical experience is a kind of violence,” which is a beautiful statement about the belief in the musical interactions and the duo’s ability. He continues by clarifying, “We are not against adding layers. I don’t think we are even against editing, but the integrity of the performance is paramount.”
Performance is paramount. It is true. Creation in a vacuum obviously doesn’t stand in live situations. And the life of this band live, presented on Between Them a Forrest Grew…, is proof of that. In conversing about the life of his label, Schlarb explains that he’s always busy, working with something, some group, some release that he believes in. And for what? Certainly, he can’t receive kudos as he walks down the streets of the LBC. He works for himself , because as he admits, “I am horrible judge of what the public thinks.” Even so, with the output of IHL being what it is, and growing, the listener can conclude independently whether this is beautiful music or noise. But if it is noise, than it’s probably the new pop and no one knew.
Black Mountain – In the Future (Jagjaguwar, 2008)
Whatever manner in which you want to refer (not reefer) to these Canadians lends no insight into what this music was, is or will become. In the Future has the ability to touch upon every music you love and probably some that you really don’t ever want to think about. From a referential stand point, one must know that Black Mountain and Pink Mountaintops share members – and I’m sure comparisons can be leveled, but really it won’t matter.
Even the unsettling, yet plain cover art seems to recall bloated bands, or maybe Uriah Heep, but a bit less colorful. And if you like Uriah Heep, all the better. If you like T-Rex, that’ll bolster your ability to appreciate this disc. Mentioning every musical reference point, for any band currently, seemingly becomes an exercise in time murder.
The sticker that arrived on the jewel case along with this disc states that Black Mountain are “Psych-and-prog-spiritual pioneers.” I believe that if you refer to musics that have already been created, merged, exploited and regurgitated, there can’t be new pioneers. Obviously, Black Mountain suffers from an overtly constructed image, or their handlers are a crew of stoned-dolts.
I’m not really afraid of anything from Canada except for D.O.A. and Wayne Gretzky. But the positioning of this group as bringers of apocalyptic doom, potentially depicted on their discs cover, is immediately refuted during any keyboard line from “Stormy High” or “Wucan” (which does have a very surprising and pleasant kraut feel).
Some of the bands’ offerings stray from their overwhelmingly proggy posturing. There’re a few enlivening points when it seems as if the group wants to launch into country-rock mode. The problem with this and a good portion of the album in general, is that lyrically, much of this disc deals with being trapped and needing to escape those that intend to do you harm. Unfortunately, the culprits often time end up being witches or demons, which are way less scary than D.O.A. or Wayne Gretzky.
Cale Parks – Illuminated Manuscript (Polyvinyl Record Company, 2006)
The young Cale Parks has played in enough bands to convince you that he’s in his late 70s or so. He’s been a part of Aloha, Cex, Joan of Arc and Pit Er Pat. And while, after that list, you may feel as if you have some sort of concept of what his solo album will sound like, you’re probably really bloody wrong. But first, considering the fact that all the noise on here was recorded by one individual, the question arises; why are these tracks given such names? I don’t aim to answer that, but I will say that there needs to be some low end rhythmic activity on some of ‘em. “Tiny Theme” is lily white Kraut rock, yes that’s right, the Midwest has made Kraut rock more white with the lack of low end depth. Not a bad track, just a little bitta something missing. Seeing as this was recorded by one person, the songs do tend to be a bit self indulgent. Not in an ‘80s metal guitar solo kinda way, but in a self pleasuring manner. The inclusion of sporadic female vocals on “Galaxy 8180” adds a bit more depth and width to this release. And after taking in all that there is on these twelve tracks, it’s easy to understand that Parks is well versed and entertained by disparate musics; the inclusion of a few unabashedly electronic numbers is proof of that. While the approach and attempt to get all those genres in there is admirable, a focused attack on electronic music might have yielded a stronger outing.
Tracklisting:
01 – Pretty Boring
02 – Galaxy 8180
03 – Tiny Theme
04 – Halls Of Avalon
05 – I Am The Arm
06 – Late Show
07 – Wet Paint
08 – Me At Home
09 – The Garden Is A Maze
10 – Fearsome Opponent
11 – Moccasin Bend
12 – Beat Masheen
Lori Scacco – Circles (Eastern Developments Music, 2004)
If you like one of these tracks, you like them all. It’s like a mini-symphony, without the old, European rigidity. Circles feels like it was perhaps recorded in Oregon, inside of a tree or some such. The instrumental nature of this album, Scacco playing guitar and piano, makes it very hard for the listener to discern one track from the next. Maybe it’s sound-track music. But it is rather impressive that this entire recording, save for the bass parts, attributable to Tim Delaney, came from a single persons’ mind. All the light and airy instrumental sections as well as the negative space (or silence if you’d like), echoes and occasional glitch-pop production came from one, singular perspective. Scacco’s talent was evident enough to Scott Herren (aka Prefuse 73) to take her on tour as well as put out this slab. Just one warning though. If you’re driving and feel moderately tired, do not put this on. It may, in that one situation, cause death.
Tracklisting:
01 – Reeling Then Again
02 - Imitation Of Happiness
03 – Quiet Light, A
04 – Heirlooms
05 – Love’s Journey
06 – Sketches Of Lines In Spiral
07 – Moving Thought Meditation
08 – Meditation
09 – Love’s Reprise