Naomi Punk - Burned Body | Video Feature

Naomi Punk create anthemic music that takes as much . The press release for their most recent album The Feeling cites influences such as The Mortal Coil, Nirvana, & The Wipers which give some clue into where these kids are coming from. Yet it is not as though their regurgitating the past in their refreshing blend of punk with hints of shoegaze and undercurrents of classic gothic rock of days past. They prove to fit perfectly within this new age of punk music that includes the likes of Iceage or even The Men to name a few. 
"Burned Body" demonstrates all of this with fiery passion and immediacy. The stark black and white stop motion video which accompanies the track presents the band in a highly stylized light and consistently obscured by bouquets of flowers or their turned away from the camera as if it would eat their souls. The video created by Robin Stein, Margaret Jones, & Jesse Brown matches the angular beauty of the song and presents some rather gifted filmmakers. If this doesn't command your attention then I'm not sure much contemporary "rock" music will be able to get you going.  Naomi Punk's "Burned Body" is available now on their sophomore album The Feeling available now via Couple Skate Records. 

Mighty Challenger - There Is No Other Way | Track Feature

Mighty Challenger bursts out of the opening gates with the melodic almost pop gem "There Is No Other Way." The project of Tom Gluibizzi (who some may know from his current project Hidden Fees or his previous role as a co-founder of Psychic Ills) goes out on his own with a refreshing blend of songwriting that stands out from what many folks these days seem to be up to. It is true that some reference points could be made to music of west africa as well as some classic rock moves of the 70's onwards. At the heart of this music is some fine tuned compositions break from any predefined genre placement.

There is a subtle rhythmic edge to the whole affair found in the Reggae like emphasis on the off beat & some the soft percussive shuffle that keep everything moving. It is possible that one can look at the similar groove oriented music Gluibizzi's other projects have had in the past for some reference points. "There Is No Other Way" is not dance music but it carries the beat well and has the potential to bring a little added bounce to the step of any listener. Mighty Challenger creates an ideal musical mixture that is perfect for the waning summer days.

Mighty Challenger's "There Is No Other Way" is available now on the project's debut 7" directly from the artist.

(Via the fine folks at RCRD LBL)

John Avery - Jessica In The Room Of Lights | Album Feature

I am not usually the biggest fan of albums that are essentially the soundtrack or sound component of a greater performative work.  Generalizations aside John Avery's compositional skill in Jessica In The Room Of Lights extends beyond it's original intent and forms a new life. It could be that the success of Jessica is that even in its original theatrical structure and performance the element of sound and the soundtrack held great importance. One could look towards the actors voices even being conveyed and spoken with through prerecorded tape playbacks. Either way Avery's Jessica In The Room Of Lights succeeds in its mission of creating an overarching narrative for the patient and acute  listener.

There is a foreboding nature at work here. Cryptic samples permeate through with the odd voice throw in manipulated and mutilated to the core. While the atmosphere surrounding all of the more dramatic elements are created with a skittering electronic buzz. The title track "Jessica In The Room Of Lights" is the corner stone of the album. In effect, the track becomes an integral string holding Avery's somewhat foreboding narrative in place. As dark and dramatic as the rest of the album gets the title track goes the polar opposite route. For the first time a repetitive melodic phrase enters the sonic vocabulary created by Avery's opaque and dreamy synth programming. This moment marks a rebirth or realization perhaps as what follows is a much more subdued affair.  "Zero Zero One, Zero One, Zero One" and "The Day Serenity Returned To The Ground" match silence with subtle and slow melodies that feel as though they would crumble upon realizing they being listened upon. While "Almost (1986)" ends with what is close to a piano ballad bringing a theatrical ending to the whole affair.

John Avery's album Jessica In The Room Of Lights is available now via Forced Nostalgia.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Only In My Dream | Video Feature

From underground wild card to indie rock institution Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti has come a long way since first came to the public eye with reissues of albums The Doldrums, Worn Copy, & House Arrest on Animal Collective's Paw Tracks label. Since then it appears like a whirlwind of a life for the unlikely star Ariel Pink has become. Now back with the follow up to 2010's Before Today the album Mature Themes seems to take it's title to heart.  
"Only In My Dreams" proves that Pink and co. still aren't through creating some of the most compelling "Pop music" out there today. The song takes from the spectrum of pure AM radio gold and the abstract jangle classic new wave to new heights. While the music production is considerably more hi-fidelity than earlier efforts the video created by Travis Peterson, who has also made music videos for the likes of Vivian Girls & Nite Jewel among others, harkens back to days of past. Throughout Pink's struggle to find and keep love is perfectly matched by Peterson's somewhat grainy VHS like footage. Let some nostalgic melancholy begin.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti's new album Mature Themes is available now via 4AD.

Last Nights Presents: Drainolith, SSPS, United Waters, & Colour Bük at Death By Audio

Last Nights Presents

Drainolith

SSPS

United Waters

Colour Bük

Sunday September 9th, 2012 

Death By Audio

49 S. 2nd Street Brooklyn, NY

Doors 8pm | $7 | All Ages

Hobo Sonn - Weeping From Eyes Three, Four and Five | Track Feature

Hobo Sonn's "Weeping from Eyes Three, Four and Five" is a satisfyingly creepy ambient brew. At some indistinct moment repetitive loops, drum rhythms, & electronic pulses begin to become ritualistic in their effect. The side turns into something of a key, summoning the beyond,  almost resembling a shaman's magic. But what else is the general listening public going to expect when seeing that this is one half of a split LP with the incredibly prolific Decimus (Pat Murano of No Neck Blues Band etc).

Throughout "Weeping from Eyes Three, Four and Five" Ian Murphy carefully mixes samples taken from the entire spectrum of . The slow churn of the tide & backward voices reciting incantations sit alongside subtle washes of synths and some overarching atmospheric murk. This is perfect for the next Ouija board party you have.

Hobo Sonn's track "Weeping From Eyes Three, Four and Five" is available now on a split LP with Decimus on Kellipah Records.

Black Pus - Pus Mortem | Album Feature

Brian Chippendale returns with Pus Mortem his latest album as Black Pus. The noise artist / drummer extraordinaire has been exploring the one band form of Black Pus for some time outside of his main gig as one half of Lightning Bolt.  Chippendale has been hammering away at Black Pus since 2005 and during this time has been continuously fine tuning his own unique brand of noise rock / art rock to stunning effects up in his hometown of Providence, RI.

Pus Mortem brings out some of Black Pus's most accessible material to date interweaved throughout the album. Three tracks into the album "Play God" could quite possibly get some people swaying and dancing with it's simple yet powerful drum rhythm combined with some melodic samples and off-kilter approach. This may have been present in past work but have never been so front and center or as confidently executed. The rest of then jumps back into traditional swing with noise-rock zest with Chippendale's drums pound away like a war call on tracks like "Why Must It End?" and "So Sensational" to great effect while multiple walls of fuzz build and swell around everything before collapsing in. But that is what Black Pus does best.

Black Pus's album Pus Mortem is available now directly from the artist at bandcamp webpage now.