The genre of Plankton Wat’s Spirits? Who cares.

When not sharing the stage with Nick Bindeman in Eternal Tapestry, Dewey Mahood creates his own sonic adventures as Plankton Wat. The arrival of fresh sounds from Plankton Wat is always cause for anticipation. Typically a Plankton Wat album is delivered on cassette, or sometimes CD-R, so having an LP release is even more special.

Plankton Wat rides […]

A not-too-late look at Daniel Rossen’s wild and free Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP

Daniel Rossen builds a world of craggy cliffs and lapping seas, calling sirens and fireside revelations. He sings a whole world into being in five tracks; a starlit world full of shrines, deserts to traipse and promises to fulfill. Listening to this record feels a bit like reading a novel that begins right in the middle or a fantastic, sparse short story.

The symphonic strains of “Return To Form” or the hearthside confessional of “Up On High” delight both the ears and the imagination in a cacophony of tales told in sound. There are elements of cowboy, the west and the old open range in “Up On High” that aren’t country by any means, it just sounds wild and free, not quite untamable. The dreamscapes are astonishing.


Continue reading A not-too-late look at Daniel Rossen’s wild and free Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP

Jon Porras’ Black Mesa oozes warmth and intimacy

Taking a step back from his duties in Barn Owl seems like a golden opportunity for Jon Porras to break out and make a record that sounds nothing like Barn Owl. I’m envisioning a quiet folk record or a more rock-inspired, Sonic Youth-esque instrumental album. Instead Porras returns a solo effort that draws […]

Beware and Be Grateful and be happy because Maps & Atlases’ new album is extraordinary

The latest record from Maps & Atlases, Beware and Be Grateful, opens with just the tiniest sample of sound that seems like it could be taken from an episode of Twin Peaks, then fades directly into a song that has the bones of at least three other songs wrapped up in it. This amalgam of sorts is entitled “Old & Gray” and covers the opening throes of love in daydream doodles all the way through the hope of having someone stand by you until you reach the decrepit gray of old age.

Maybe it’s just because I’m in my early twenties trying to figure out life, love and the universe, but it seems to me these questions are woven into this album, and not answered but probed, examined and bemoaned with a care that is inspiring. The quilting of different sounds and marriage of styles contained in this record is outrageous and wonderful. Without fear and without discrimination Maps & Atlases take the best parts of every genre and every sound and mix it into one big beautiful mess. An angular jam of circuitous pop energy and lyrics of ancient innocence and juvenile sin.

Dave Davison’s voice glimmers through the opening song like a guiding light, though it is surrounded on all sides by walls of sound. Beats, pianos, acoustic guitar strums, electronic sounds of all glorious shapes and sizes and a variety of harmonies appear at different points, only to fade into themselves and out again. Oh, and I’m still only talking about the first track.

Maps & Atlases “Old and Gray” by Barsuk Records

Continue reading Beware and Be Grateful and be happy because Maps & Atlases’ new album is extraordinary

White Hills’ Frying on this Rock is space-rock at its finest

The heavy freight train that is White Hills seems to stop for no man. It’s not even been a full year since the release of the classic H-p1 and we now have a new epic space-rock document in the form of Frying on this Rock. This record is much more raw and blunt […]

Wooden Shjips’ Remixes 12” makes me curious

I will confess that I’m usually not a fan of remixes. I find that remixes usually just end up sucking the life out of a song by adding a lot of drum machines and loops, thereby creating a new version that tends to be a shadow of the original. This is the stuff […]

Pontiak’s Echo Ono is a road trip record with a heavy emphasis on trip

One of the first great rock records of 2012 has landed in the form of Pontiak’s latest, Echo Ono. The nine tracks that make up this record have only one purpose: to take you on a room-shaking, mind-altering, jaw-dropping trip to anywhere but here. Echo Ono is a magical mystery tour for heavy […]

[The Past Presents] Unrest – “Perfect Teeth”

The Past Presents revisits revered albums from the past 20-25 years to ask the question, “Is this album still a classic, or has it lost its edge over the years?”. Was it a great record for that particular time and place, or is it something we’ll be passing on to our kids? It also looks at the “lost classics” – countless albums that should have earned more attention but for one reason or another fell through the cracks.

I think most avid music fans can document the highs, lows and even the mid-ranges of their lives by pointing to a specific artist or album that is synonymous with a particular event or period of life. These albums typically stay with you for years, remaining a part of the fabric of your life story. For me, Unrest’s last album, Perfect Teeth, will be forever linked to my four years in college. Perfect Teeth, along with a handful of other standouts, kicked open the door to a whole new world of music that never surfaced in the small rural town I called home. This album was released in August of 1993, just as I was entering my sophomore year. As a freshman I’d discovered the Garden of Eden that was the Washington D.C. indie-rock world. In addition to Dischord, there were labels like Simple Machines and Teenbeat, helmed by Unrest front man Mark Robinson. Among these three labels nearly all of the regions’ best bands found a home.

While Dischord was home to the punk and hardcore acts, Simple Machines and Teenbeat took care of the indie-rock bands. As all three labels grew, Simple Machines and Teenbeat started to add bands from out of the immediate D.C. area, but you always knew that these labels were committed to the music of the Washington D.C. region. It seems a bit crazy now, almost 20 years down the road, that two labels of such prominence could pull from the same indie-rock pool and both do so well. I guess that speaks to the number of quality bands in D.C. at that time. Another factor was the labels had very distinct personalities. Simple Machines embraced a more serious, earnest brand of indie-rock, while Teenbeat tended to align themselves with more playful, and sometimes adventurous, bands. I did and still do hold both labels in high esteem, but they were very different animals to me.

Continue reading [The Past Presents] Unrest – “Perfect Teeth”

Rachel Grimes – Marion County 1938 EP

Some days music owns you. Sometimes you come across a piece of music that literally stops you in your tracks. As each phrase passes you don’t move an inch, voluntarily paralyzed, for fear of missing or accidentally drowning out some subtle nuance. This music reaches deeper than other music. Rachel Grimes’ latest release, […]

The Willow & The Builder

Connecticut’s The Willow & The Builder is technically Richard Miron and Adrian Simon, but they’re joined by a whole slew of musicians on their debut s/t record. The ever-changing dynamic of the debut is impressive, as Miron and Simon’s exuberant youthfulness is on full display. But there’s also a keen sense of sorrow, […]