Gig #88: Of late 27: Alex G, JOYFULTALK, Cult Leader, Deerhunter, Voices from the Lake, Protomartyr, Aisha Devi, M. Lamar, Gnaw Their Tongues, Laurel Halo, Steve Hauschildt, Co La, Dirty Pharms, Ryan Hemsworth & Lucas

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Alex G Bug
‘Beach Music’s songs differ in genre touchstones and instrumentation choices, like he’s scrolling through an iTunes library set to shuffle. Giannascoli has always been a voracious, omnivorous listener, drawing inspiration from every corner of the music universe, and Beach Music runs that eccentric span. The set splices together everything from a Jon Brion score to a George Harrison pop sigh, from early Animal Collective vocal tinkering to Phil Collins synth patches. But there’s a wavering instability to the tracks themselves as well, something like the tracking pattern on a cassette, a sign of wear from something beloved but also a sign of decay. Beach Music feels like the work of an artist a few steps ahead of his audience, jumping to answer their expectations of a DIY darling taking on the trappings of a label. He stuck to his roots, recorded at home, and embraced his eccentricities. Giannascoli also wasn’t afraid to go big, resulting in one of the richest, deepest-sounding albums of his catalog. With each successive record and step up the ladder, Alex G continues to impress. Witnessing his prodigious experimentation and the revelations of his unique worldview should be a treat for years to come.’ — Consequence of Sound

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JOYFULTALK Possible Futures
‘One of the great mysteries of the Canadian indie music scene is the career of Jay Crocker. The enigmatic musician has obviously flirted with occasional success: His contributions to Ghostkeeper’s eponymous album from 2010 helped it crack the Polaris Music Prize long list that same year; The Calgary Herald named his 2006 debut solo album Melodies from the Outskirts the best indie release of the year; and his jazzy NoMoreShapes project was positively reviewed by The New York Times. Yet, despite his occasional flourishes of recognition, Crocker remains a kind of musician’s musician. He never really got his big moment, seemingly unable to surf the rising wave of Calgary’s economic boom to breakthrough into the general hip conversation like similarly brilliant indie noise monger Chad VanGaalen. In search of sparser pastures, Crocker left his hometown in Alberta for a little place in Nova Scotia called Crousetown. Holed up there at his home studio, Prism Ship, with a Harry Partch-worthy collection of 14 custom-built instruments that boast names as far out as The Comb Over and The Pink Dolphin, MUUIXX sees Crocker composing and performing each of their distinctive timbres into a cohesive statement. The compositions sound generally repetitive and mechanical, yet he eschewed looping and sampling in favor of meticulous live performance governed by a circular scoring method of his own creation, which lends his quirky minimal electronic explorations even more of that essential uneven hemline of humane analog quirkiness.’ — Tiny Mix Tapes

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Cult Leader Great I Am
‘Three-quarters of Cult Leader hail from Gaza, the defunct, progressive grindcore outfit whose 2012 swansong No Absolutes in Human Suffering wound up being the most intense thing they ever produced. Lightless Walk tops it. Gaza bassist Anthony Lucero has moved up to lead vocals for Cult Leader (with new bassist Sam Richards abetting guitarist Mike Mason and drummer Casey Hansen), and his doom-soaked howl is enough to leave you wondering what took him so long to front a band. On the mutated, d-beat-meets-blastbeats jolt that is “Walking Wasteland”, Lucero sings from his intestines instead of his lungs, letting Mason’s caustic riffs wash over him like an acid bath. “Great I Am” makes great use of space, hovering distortion, and needles of feedback that are somehow crosshatched into insidious melody. On the whole, Cult Leader is a more aggressive yet concise band than Gaza—and one that gets the notion of merciless self-editing.’ — Jason Heller

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Deerhunter Living My Life
‘Deerhunter has spent the better part of a decade creating some of the most interesting and lively records on the indie-rock scene. As the bands that made up indie rock’s celebrated mid-’00s creative renaissance continue their inevitable collective march toward middle-age comfort, Deerhunter should be applauded for refusing to rest on its laurels by actively seeking to make a record with purpose and scope. The goals and the stakes are real for them, and in Fading Frontiers, the effort is blindingly evident.’ — AV Club

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Voices from the Lake Sonia Danza
‘As was to be expected they stay true to their polyphonic topography of liquid scapes: aquati
c sceneries are embedded in soaking dense atmospheres, gently gyrating us into trance. Sometimes soft echoes of sirenic voices are heard – the only remnants of human traces in these spaces that have suspended time, where smooth silky textures are being channeled into fractal structures that induce a state of transcendence. The haptic quality of their sound is adding up to a sonic matrix of metaphysic imaginary that is provoked by gentle glides and dynamic beat patterns of almost tribalistic quality.’ — Editions Mego

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Protomartyr Dope Cloud
‘In what feels like an odd moment of prescience, roughly halfway through The Agent Intellect, the harrowing third album from the Detroit band Protomartyr, the Pope pays a visit. It’s 1987 in Pontiac, Mich., and Pope John Paul II is visiting the Silverdome, delivering Mass to the 100,000 faithful who’d come to hear him speak. Among them was a young Joe Casey who, 25 years later, would grow up to become Protomartyr’s frontman. The event was historic—it set an attendance record at the arena—but what Casey remembers about it in “Pontiac 87” isn’t the beauty of the sermon or the spectacle in the ceremony, but the ugliness boiling just beneath the surface. On his way into the arena, he sees “money changing between hands,” and on his way out, a riot, where “Old folks turn brutish/ Trampling their way out the gates towards heaven.” This is the universe Protomartyr inhabits, one where violence hovers constantly at the periphery, where peace and hope gradually curdle and turn ugly, and the desperate people who once clung to them eventually fall prey to their worst impulses.’ — J. Edward Keyes

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Aïsha Devi Mazda
‘Many of the tracks on Of Matter And Spirit are deliberately provocative in their aural assault on your ears and synapses. The opening track ‘Adera’, opens up with aerated, gaseous vocals and elephantine martial trance synths that blind you with their hi-definition brilliance. And this sets the musical tone for the rest of the album. The bass and rhythmic drum patterns and percussion throughout, especially on tracks such as ‘Numan J’, ‘Initiation To An Illusion’, and ‘1%’, are cavernous with a particularly a crushing ceremonial action to them. If you’ve ever heard Devi’s previous releases on her Danse Noire label, such as the Hakken Dub/Throat Dub EP and tracks such as ‘Clean Ur Chakras’, then you will know that this is no soothing new-age mush that gently coos and caresses you. Its thrusting devotions and digital liturgies are meant to overload, tear away at shake up your senses, to flake away any toxic karma you may have lodged in any hard to reach crevices.’ — The Quietus

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M. Lamar Speculum Orum
‘Musician, composer, and performer M Lamar proudly calls himself a Yale dropout. After leaving the Ivy League school’s masters program in sculpture, he returned to San Francisco – where he’d formerly lived as an undergraduate at the San Francisco Art Institute – and devoted himself entirely to music, creating haunting compositions that merge post-punk, goth, and heavy-metal stylings with more classical formats, from black spirituals and gospel to opera.’ — Observer

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Gnaw Their Tongues Through Flesh
‘The latest missive from the pit where Gnaw Their Tongues lurks gets at once medieval and modernist on every square centimetre of the willing supplicant’s disease-ridden flesh. Taking up the challenge so successfully laid by the likes of Khanate to make listening to music as actually unsettling and terrifying an experience as being immersed in a brutally realistic horror film can be, GTT’s torturer-in-chief (and indeed sole member) Mories lays out his latest master plan for the subjugation of humankind.’ — The Quietus

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Laurel Halo Nebenwirkungen
‘An enormously welcome return for an essential voice in techno. Halo started out making galaxy-contemplating dream-pop in 2010, eventually silencing her pipes and seguing into dance tracks. These are like novels that reveal new meanings with every reading, full of unusual instrumentation, Chain Reaction-style frosting and rhythms that are dynamic yet uncertain. On the new tracks from her double EP In Situ, things are more minimalist and mysterious than ever. “On Situation”, what sound like modular synths make inquiring bird calls, as muted rave chords play over an almost Caribbean shuffle – it’s tropical paradise in a broken VR simulator. On “Nebenwirkungen”, a bass wub keeps hesitantly dipping its toe in and out of the water, but the mid-range is more confident, piling in and chattering in an obscure robot dialect. This is the kind of dub techno that Moritz Von Oswald is a master of, but Halo’s skank is truly twisted.’ — The Guardian

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Steve Hauschildt Watertoweps
‘Throughout his tenure as a member of prolific ambient adventurers Emeralds, as well as his concurrent solo work, Steve Hauschildt has never appeared to lack creative energy. However, following the 2012 release of Sequitur, his second Kranky album, the Cleveland-based artist quietly brought that steady flow of original material to a standstill. Whether intentional or not, the break in output appears to have given Hauschildt time to examine his craft. Three years later, he’s emerged with his most distinctive record to date, Where All Is Fled. Hauschildt’s transition to slightly darker—and, at times, vaguely symphonic—sounds proves to be an excellent framework for his compositional strengths. Both in Emeralds and as a solo producer, Hauschildt has always been adept with touching melodies. A keen sense for natural progression makes his pieces continue to stand out from many ambient contemporaries. Hauschildt is also more confident than ever with his hardware: the almost entirely beatless record can be somber and deeply contemplative, but never icy. Where All Is Fled’s tones are consistently rich and warm, slathered in reverb and delay without overwhelming the details.’ — Resident Adviser

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Co La Suffering
‘Where Co La’s past work focused on rendering impressions of physical spaces, designs
and objects into broad musical forms, Papich now turns his interest inward, investigating the sensual and emotional aspects of terrestrial life. The language is basic: a sneeze, a baby’s cry, an alphabet, the biting of an apple, laughter and screams. Despite the simple signifiers, No No is inscribed with content – it points to basic fears/desires and scrambles them, creating an oddly emotional & alien dimension, an action in Club music hitherto unknown. Simple inversion is a focal point of No No. Club culture categorically offers an escape from the real world for revelers. Co La, a seminal player in Baltimore’s experimental club environment, (Club Undo), regularly abstracts the party into intellectually confrontational encounters, be it a rifle scope aimed directly on his forehead or building temporary soundsystems out of zipcars. His recorded music and performances both play with listener’s expectations by inviting drama into otherwise Cool experiences.’ — Mexican Summer

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Drrty Pharms A Lesson For Insolence
‘I believe that repression allows violent fantasies to fester inside people until they are powerless to control them. These are things that need to be expressed; ignoring them is not going to make them go away. You don’t choose and can’t necessarily control what you fantasize about, but you can find healthy outlets to express these fantasies which can help you manage your behavior. I used to struggle with intrusive thoughts about hurting people. I was convinced that, as much as i dreaded it, I would inevitably end up hurting someone. I had a lot of traumatic sexual experiences as a young kid and I worried it was a cycle I was powerless to repeat. The only thing which gave me relief from this mental torment was having artistic outlets to purge my intrusive thoughts. The more public I was able to be about my fantasies, the less they haunted me and now they rarely even cross my mind when I’m not writing music. I love the idea of parties as bacchanal autonomous zones where everyone celebrates by transgressing the rigid social codes forced on us in day-life, where people can behave like beasts without being condemned or judged. I’d like to throw more underground parties, outside of commercial spaces, where people can act crazy and do whatever they want (within reason) without it being an issue.’ — Dirty Pharms

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Ryan Hemsworth & Lucas From Grace
‘The biggest surprise here is that the largely unknown Lucas often sets the tone. Whereas Hemsworth’s recent solo work favors crisp, clean lines, these tracks tend to crackle, buzz and fade. Melodies waft in as if through an open window and often drift off just as unceremoniously. Vocals are treated past the point of intelligibility, serving as textures that rub up against other elements in the mix. Given the gauzy sonic palette, emotions feel implied, rather than announced—not a bad look for Hemsworth, who can occasionally veer into preciousness on his own. There’s a sort of hazy sheen over Taking Flight that makes even the big crescendos feel slightly blurry, like vaseline smeared on a camera lens.’ — Mehan Jayasuriya

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p.s. Hey. Starting tomorrow, I will be taking another break, short this time, from the blog as I will be in Berlin co-hosting two screenings of Zac’s and film LIKE CATTLE TOWARDS GLOW on Friday and Saturday. If you happen to be there, here is information re: the times, location, and the ticket buying situation for the screenings. Blog-wise, this place will be in reruns with minimal, pre-set p.s.es through Monday. Then it and I will be back all new and interactive again starting on Tuesday. ** Bill, Hi. You, a traditionalist? Ha ha, that’s an interesting tidbit. Apparently the Hirst-like things are actually cakes, yes. Drenched, inaccessible cakes, it looks like. I’m quite tempted to find out if Conjurers Kitchen delivers. Bet not. Or not this far. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. As a sometimes vegan, I can assure you that it takes more than a fake steak cake to drive me, at least, around any bend. ** Tosh Berman, Hi, Tosh. I do think investing in a Leve book or two would be a decision you would not regret. The walkouts aren’t troublesome. It’s a pretty demanding film. I very rarely walk out of a film, although I did end up walking out on the new Noe film not long before it ended. Cinefamily would be a great place to show ‘LCTG’, of course. Do you know anybody there? ** Steevee, Hi. I saw the director’s cut of ‘Until the End of the World’ back in the very early 00’s. I had actually sort of semi-liked the film in its released version, but I found the director’s cut, which basically dragged out the things I hadn’t liked about it, just unbearable. But, yeah, it has its champions. ** Sypha, Hi, James. I actually didn’t get to see very much of Montreal, just the turf between my hotel and the theaters where our film showed, which wasn’t very much turf. It seemed all right, but I didn’t get a feel for it, really. So sorry to hear that your dad had to go through all that. Very best of luck on his recovery, and hugs to you. * Krayton, Hi, K. Missed ya too. I’m trying to figure out how to make it feel Halloween-y over here in Paris. Not easy. I think a few of us are just going to try to find/buy a scary cake and watch some horror movies. ‘In love to death’ sounds good, I think. I think I can absolutely 100% assure that I will never ever cast Ben Affleck in anything, although never say never on the gif stuff, if that counts. ** _Black_Acrylic, According to its maker or, rather, its maker’s website, no. But can it be believed? Yeah, his titles used to be pretty funny, although, in retrospect, I wonder if they were intentionally funny. ** Chilly Jay Chill, Hi there, Jeff! Sure wish I could see your new theater piece. How is it going, and how do you feel about it, if you can say? Bad cold, ugh, sorry. I love ‘breathless and fluid’. That’s exciting. Hm, if I know the stuff of Martin Newell/Cleaners from Venus, then I have forgotten. I’ll make a point to get to start to know him/them. The reception to the film has been very good thus far. So far, we’re really quite happy with how it’s going. We’ll see what happens this weekend. Our producers programmed the film into this Berlin Porn Film Festival thing, and I think it’s a weird, bad fit, to say the least, and fuck knows how that will go. ** Liquoredgoat, Hi, Douglas. Me too, i.e, the maggot-y, etc. ones being the most off-putting to the taste buds. Oh, shit, I still need to wrack my brains about short story collections to recommend. Sorry, I spaced, and I’m a bit too jet-lagged and preparing to leave town this morning. I will write down that I should do that, and I will. Sorry. Oh, Benjamin Weissman’s ‘Headless’ and/or ‘Dear Dead Person’. There’s one/two. ** Misanthrope, Hi. Declarative sentences, right, gotcha. Yeah, it does sound like you got fleeced on that plantation tour. Here are five haunted house things in Maryland, if that helps: Field of Screams, Frightland, Bedlam in the Boro< /a>, Legends of the Fog, Bennett’s Curse. Field of Screams is pretty famous and well-regarded. I don’t know the others. ** Right. What’s up today … Oh, a gig of new or newish stuff that I’m listening to. See if your ears align with mine to any degree. So, the blog will see you tomorrow, Saturday, and Monday, and I will see you on Tuesday. Have excellent long weekends, everyone.