Deadfood- Weird Feelings (2000)

I can still remember finding out about these guys, many years ago.  I was looking online for a Subtract to Zero LP, and came across this small distro. that was running a sale.  So, long story short I was reading through the different titles they had and saw this Deadfood release.  The description said metal and jazz and some other stuff, so I was thinking, "Metal and Jazz, Hell ya!" so I picked it up for under $5!  When I got the cd I remember looking at the cover, then the inside cover, and thinking "what the hell?", due to the fact that there are only pictures of mushrooms on the cover, and not band info. what-so-ever anywhere in their packaging. Right away from minute number one, after I started playing it, I realized that this is one of the most unique sounding projects that I had come across.  With that being said, I have come across other bands that are similar in style, over the years, but with this being such a cool/cheap find, I rank it pretty high.

Weird Feelings is 13 track release that covers all aspects of musical enlightenment.  Deadfood hits the spastic uniqueness that most bands can't even comprehend.  In all honesty the only other album that can stand toe-to-toe with this is Mr. Bungle's Disco Volante album.  Multiple instruments get intertwined in a weave of highly experimental yet really well put together noise rock meets electronic rock meets noise/grindcore/experimentalism.  The band has members in other equally impressive projects but in all honesty, none can compare to Deadfood.  EdibleChrist has given me 2 other Deadfood releases, as gifts, and they are both just as freakin' awesome.  I have sat here, while typing this review to think of multiple ways to describe this project, but there is really no way to describe them.

Multiple instruments and multiple genre's and time changes mark this album repeatedly, which for any music enthusiast is a sign of great craftsmanship.  When I think of some of my favorite all time bands, broken down by genre/style, these guys definitely top the list of of their style; not to mention that I would say that they are probably in my top 25 all time favorites.  If you can find this, you should buy it, you will not be disappointed, but if you must, look on your favorite file sharing program. 

Official score- 4.20/5 

OOIOO- Feather Float (1999)

I came across this band some years ago, when I was exploring some of the "related" offshoot bands of the Boredoms.  There's something about all female Japanese projects that seem to get the blood flowing.  Maybe its the usual high energy they produce or maybe its just the fact that, in your minds eye, you can see chirpy Japanese chics rockin' out to some crazy experimental Noise Rock tunes. Either way, OOIOO is a pretty decent project.

Like I said above, OOIOO is an all female 4 piece that plays highly contagious noise rock/experimentalism. Out of the different albums that I have heard, Feather Float is my favorite.  Feather Float is one of the more consistent albums that they have.  Just as The Boredoms, OOIOO can be pretty chaotic in structure and has a tendency to be pretty experimental.  (which I am totally ok with, but I realize not everyone can handle that.)  Feather Float has a lot of really catchy tracks and with the soft female vocals, and steady rhythms, its easy to fall into a trance.  Half of the tracks are really Boredom like, while the rest seem like experimental dance tracks.  I've never been to a live show in Japan, but all pics that I have seen, seem to be chalk full of energy, crazy outfits and tons of people; and with this release, I could see OOIOO garner that same type of live setting.  Feather Float has 11 tracks and is under an hour in running time, which makes this a great release.  To be more precise with a description- you can take the highly structured Boredoms songs, make the vocals all female, slow it down a bit then make it sound like a Japanese cartoon theme song, then you have Feather Float.

I have listened to this album a ton, and have had it for quite a long time now, and I still have not gotten sick of it. (I think it is currently on my MP3 player at this very moment.)  Some average music fans will not appreciate this style of music, but if you are familiar with the Boredoms or experimental rock/noise rock, then you'll really like this.  The album and band as a whole, is not aggressive, instead it is more melodic; so go get it, download it or buy it.  By the way.... if you live in France, either them or some off shoot side project is playing there sometime soon; just check out the link on their main page.

Official score- 4/5

Bardo Pond- Dilate (2001)

The first time that I was introduced to Bardo Pond was seeing them live. I remember watching them and enjoying them live, but felt like they weren't the liveliest of bands to see.  I did like the fact that they introduced a flute and violin into a modern psychedelic sound, but I figured that since I was anticipating Mogwai to perform after them, I was just getting antsy.  Well Dilate was the album that I got, after seeing them live, in order to check out what their studio recordings sounded like.

More often then not, it seems like a band is either better live vs their studio recording or vise versa, well, I think that Bardo Pond might just not be what I'm into.  I wasn't that impressed with them live, but wanted to give them a try, and I have heard three different Bardo Pond releases, and they all seem to him me with the same relatively stagnant sound.  I am not going to say that they are bad, I just find them pretty boring.  They have great song structure and really do a good job at this sort of modern day psychedelic/acid rock sound.  I like the fact that they throw in the flute and violin, it adds a twist of sounds that you don't usually hear with modern day experimental rock bands, add in the female vocals and you will have a good mix, for some, but not me.  I guess that maybe the music just didn't grip me enough.  Since seeing them live, which was many years ago, I have tried giving them chances, multiple times, as my taste changes; but none of those chances have led to a different opinion.  Dilate has 10 tracks, and lasts over an hour, which makes the album seem to last forever.  Now, there are some great parts to some of these tracks, but not enough to keep you anticipating more

This album, and probably the band as a whole, will speak to a different audience, that I am not a part of.  Like I said above, Bardo Pond is not a bad group, just not my style.

Official Score-3.25/5

Tortoise- Beacons of Ancestorship (2009)

Tortoise is one of those bands that I have always liked, but haven't really familiarized myself with too much.  I have enjoyed most of what I have heard from them, so when I was browsing my favorite peer-2-peer program, not too long ago, I decided to get this album to check out; I wasn't disappointed.

Tortoise is a great instrumental project that produces really good multi-genre tracks.  11 tracks that cover a wide spectrum of styles, Beacons of Ancestorship does a nice job of producing a good flow to this album that help keeps you listening.  I have noticed that a lot of instrumental projects lack that necessary draw to keep most listeners wanting more, and Tortoise has seemed to figure out that equation.  I'll be honest in stating that there are better instrumental projects, but there a whole lot more that suck in comparison.  Within this album you get to hear: post-rock, electronic, experimental rock, great rhythms and beats and a lot more hooks that will keep you in that zone when listing to their instrumental compositions.

This is a good album that I would recommend, but there is a handful of instrumental musicians/groups that I would rather recommend first.  A good thing to go and download or to pay $3-4 bucks for if you find it used.  If you check out some of the other musical projects these guys are in, you might appreciate this more, so do a little research and you won't be too disappointed.

Official Score- 3/5

The Legendary Pink Dots- The Crushed Velvet Apocalypse (1990)

The Legendary Pink Dots are just that, legendary, but honestly, I have never been a big fan.  The LPD has produced some really cool stuff, and without hearing all of their albums, my opinion is based off of what I have heard.

The Crushed Velvet Apocalypse is an album from 1990, that has some pretty decent psychedelic/goth/progressive rock; if you're into that combination of genres.  This album, 12 tracks and a little over an hour long, pretty much comes in under the radar.  I am not a fan of goth rock, and the majority of the vocals on this album have a strong early goth rock style to it; think Christian Death.  I picked this album to listen to, in order to review, because I do have a digital copy of an old 7-inch split they did some time ago, that was bad ass; but after I heard this, I was not impressed.  I will say though, this album does have some absolutely wonderful experimental/early-industrial sounding rhythms that comprise most tracks.  After each song all I could think was that if they didn't sing, this album would be pretty good.  The LPD do a great job composing these experimental rhythms and you can tell they took their time in order to find the exact sound they wanted to comprise their "drum" track; but that's it.  I was not impressed with the album as a whole; only 4 of the songs do I actually like the music that is being played, and none of the vocals in the album grabbed me. 

I don't want to say that The LPD are a crappy band, because they're not, but their music only speaks to a certain audience, and unfortunately I am not from that crowd.  If your not a fan of Goth Rock or 80's-ish Industrial, then you might not need to seek out anything from The LPD, but if you do like that, you'll probably enjoy.

Official Score- 1.75/5
(I sat here trying to figure out how to rate this, I really liked the rhythms and experimental sounds and contemplated rating it a 2/5, but since I will never listen to this again, figured that 2/5 was just a little too high.)

Man Man- Six Demon Bag (2006)

Let me start out by thanking EdibleChrist, the other contributor to this blog [whenever he starts], for introducing me to this project.  EC and I have been pals for quite some time now and I always appreciate his suggestions, and this is definitely a great one!

Man Man is an experimental band from Philadelphia that pretty much hits experimental rock on the head, with a giant piano driven- gold plated hammer.  There are 2 other releases by Man Man, and each one is just as good as the next.  They throw everything at you: Piano, Rhodes Piano, woodwinds, drums, bass, guitar, vocals, off-beat time signature and lyrics that cover the spectrum of tameness to absurdity.  (absurdity is not used in a negative way for this review!)  

Six Demon Bag, with 13 glorious tracks and nearly 41 minutes of great tunage, pulls out all the stops; hitting on multiple different genres and styles that will put your ears into orgasmic convulsions.  The album, in EC's words, is a little downtrodden, but the style is fluid and makes the you always keep a foot tapping to their rhythms.  This can be categorized by multiple different genre types, but honestly, this is another one of those projects that you need to hear for yourself.  Check out their videos and try and catch them live if you can, but if not, definitely get this album. 

Official Score-4/5

To Kill A Pretty Bourgeoisie- The Patron (2007)

Throughout my entire collection of music, I would have to say that this is by far one of the most unique releases that I have heard.  I am not too familiar with To Kill A Pretty Bourgeoisie, but their mix of genres on this album is something new- Shoe Gaze with Noisy Drones as the rhythm, to produce this fluid and full amalgamation of experimental rock meets harsh electronics.  

The Patron has 10 tracks, all of which pretty much follow the same line of style: tonal intro, heavily effected tones that builds into a nice rhythm then enter the shoe gaze style female vocals followed by a beat, that is hard to tell if it is live drums being ran through some kind of effects or just programmed beats.  I really am not trying to downplay this album, although I might be coming across a little negative, this is a really interesting album.  For me, I like it, but then again I really enjoy inventiveness/experimentation when it comes to different musicians/projects that I find and hear for the first time.

There is a major drawback to this though; I would assume that this style really only appeals to a certain demographic of listeners.  I don't see being able to copy this off for someone and hearing them rave about it when I ask their opinion of it, not because it isn't good, but due to the fact that there isn't any real hooks that would grab the average listener.  It is overall a little downtrodden in style, no uplifting sounds on this release, but it is a dark portrayal of something that the artists are trying to get out, and with that they did a good job.

I would recommend this to my friends that are into different experimental progressive styles of music, but not the average music fan.  If the songs were a little more diverse, even if they stuck to the same style, I would give it a better score.

Official Score- 3/5