Chthonic: Takasago Army (Spinefarm)

Chthonic: "Takao"

Formed in Taipei in 1997, Chthonic (pronounced “thonic”) plays symphonic black metal rooted in traditional Taiwanese music and folklore. Known to incorporate traditional instruments such as the hena (a two-string bowed fiddle, also known as the erhu in China) and base its lyrics on the mythologies of Taiwan’s history, the band is one of Taiwan’s most outspoken symbols for national independence and thought.

Takasago Army is Chthonic's sixth full-length album and is a concept piece about aboriginal Taiwanese tribesmen who volunteered in the Imperial Japanese Army after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Musically, it splashes elements of black, thrash, power, and melodic death metal with the emotional cries of the erhu and Freddy Lim's piercing shrieks and guttural screams. The symphonic moments are strategically placed, showing themselves for dramatic effect and melodic accompaniment; the result is an alternately war-like and pensive atmosphere.

- Text by Michael Nolledo and Scott Morrow.

Big Business: Quadruple Single EP (Gold Metal)

Big Business: "Always Never Know When to Quit"

When we last heard from Big Business in 2009, the formerly drum-and-bass sludge-rock duo had become a three-piece and released an epic, theatrical, singalong opus in Mind the Drift. Now the group has expanded yet again, doubling from its original size to a quartet by adding second guitarist Scott Martin, and Quadruple Single is the band's first offering in this form.

These four tunes fall somewhere between Mind the Drift and its predecessors, possibly a reflection of getting acclimated to the new lineup. There's plenty of emphasis once more on Jared Warren's thunderous bass lines and howling vocals, but this time they're rounded out by wailing post-rock accents and by both harmonized and noisy guitar accompaniments.

The most chant-worthy tune, "Ice-Cold War," is immediately followed by the hard-hitting "California Square Dance," which is full of massive bass (both guitar and drums) and agile fills. "Guns" closes the EP with a dose of Big Business' tongue-in-cheek humor, as an overdubbed refrain repeatedly shouts, "Guns are better than everything else" in advance of the group's most guitar-driven breakdown.

Little Dragon: Ritual Union (Peacefrog)

Little Dragon: "Ritual Union"

It's tempting to say that there's something in water in Gothenburg, Sweden. It might be more accurate to say that are two distinct strains — one running dark and viscous (At the Gates, In Flames) and the other as sweet and colorful as Vitamin Water (Jens Lekman, El Perro del Mar). Feeding on a healthy diet of the latter and bolstering the city's mystique is Little Dragon, a dance-pop quartet that just released its third full-length, Ritual Union.

Fans of the band's last release, Machine Dreams in 2009, will find that Ritual Union handles its intoxicating blend of oddball percussion, melodious hooks, and carefree genre-surfing with more poise. Each of its tracks take time to morph from minimal to manic in a fashion not unlike Hot Chip's soulful, dance-floor-ready electronica.

Little Dragon's focal point, on stage and on record, is its vocalist, Yukimi Nagano. Her cooly unaffected R&B delivery is an excellent counterweight to the band's pronounced affection for bouncy, hypnotic synth. Rather than sounding dated or ironically nostalgic, Little Dragon's gauzy pop imagines an '80s where restraint wins out over indulgence, and analog and electronic are not so readily distinguishable.

- Text by Kyle Gilkeson.

Aram Bajakian’s Kef: s/t (Tzadik)

Aram Bajakian's Kef: "Raki"

Brooklyn guitarist Aram Bajakian is yet another in New York City's long line of masterful experimentalists, mixing rock, jazz, noise, and world music into an indecipherable avant-garde blend.

Though he performs with a host of accomplished musicians (including Lou Reed, Marc Ribot, Yusef Lateef, Steven Bernstein, and Billy Martin), Bajakian also leads a number of projects, and Kef reflects his Armenian heritage. A student of world music, Bajakian uses this string trio to expand on the tradition of kef, an Armenian dance style that adapts and electrifies various folk elements.

Here, the string trio — electric and acoustic guitars, acoustic bass, and violin — takes Eurasian folk melodies and runs them through an avant-rock and jazz filter. Between harmonious folk arrangements, the guitar and violin often pair for energetic runs, buoyed by the rich bass textures, and all three instruments offer a wellspring of timbres. After running the gamut for its first 10 tracks, the album then closes with two of its most beautiful tunes in "48 Hours" and "La Rota."

Honorable Mentions

The Blind Shake: Seriousness (Learning Curve)

Cerebral Ballzy: s/t (Williams Street)

Dex Romweber Duo: Is That You in the Blue? (Bloodshot)

Isis: Live V 07.23.06

Laddio Bolocko: The Life and Times of Laddio Bolocko reissue (No Quarter)

Machinedrum: Room(s) (Planet Mu)

Rival Sons: Pressure & Time (Earache)

William Elliott Whitmore: Field Songs (Anti-)

William Elliott Whitmore: "Field Song"

Inspired by his roots in the American Midwest, singer/songwriter William Elliott Whitmore has helped spark a renewed interest in blues and folk music over the past decade. Now with more than half a dozen records to his name, Whitmore’s raspy, soulful voice is as recognized as ever, and his new album, Field Songs, accentuates it with another sparse, minimalist backdrop.

Singing tales about adversity in middle America, Whitmore uses Field Songs to conjure images of rural life, with literal field sounds often in the background. Musically, it emphasizes acoustic guitar as much as or more than the banjo that has become synonymous with his name, and it goes further back to basics, cutting the few instrumental accompaniments that were present on his last album.

Decapitated: Carnival is Forever (Nuclear Blast)

Decapitated: "Homo Sum"

In the early 2000s, and at very young ages, the members of Decapitated began an ascent to become one of Poland's preeminent technical-death-metal outfits. The group enjoyed accolades for its complex yet hook-tinged sound, culminating with the release of its 2006 album, Organic Hallucinosis.

But just a year and a half after that release, tragedy struck: a car accident took the life of drummer Witold "Vitek" Kiełtyka (the brother of guitarist/composer and co-founder Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka) and left vocalist Adrian "Covan" Kowanek in a coma.

Wacław, however, eventually decided to reform Decapitated in honor of his fallen brother. With the additions of drummer Kerim "Krimh" Lechner and vocalist Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski, the band has released a sterling return to form in Carnival is Forever, its first album in five years.

Lechner and Piotrowski more than prove their capabilities on the album, and that's no small feat — particularly for Lechner, who succeeds a drummer that was lauded by many, including Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake. The riffs have a bit more head-banging potential, and there's a bit more polyrhythmic play (a la Meshuggah and its "djent" brethren); palm-muted guitar triplets often work over tom-intensive beats and extended double bass. Wacław unleashes a few shredding guitar solos at key moments, and Piotrowski lays a slightly higher-register intensity over everything. The result is powerful.

There's a bit of clean-guitar play on a few tracks, but the most notable use is on the beautiful solo-guitar, minor-key closer "Silence," which presumably is a tribute to Witold. It's a graceful end to an otherwise explosive tribute album.

Washed Out: Within and Without (Sub Pop)

Washed Out: "Amor Fati"

In 2009, electronica novice Ernest Greene appeared on the indie scene under the moniker of Washed Out, offering an accessible and diverse dose of new wave on the Life of Leisure EP. The recording delved into a reimagined electronica sound, taking cues from mid-’80s synth heavyweights and putting a modern twist on it. It was a very bright start, but it was only a matter of time to see whether Greene and his fresh, revitalized “chillwave” sound could retain its consistency and musical integrity for a full-length effort.

Two years later, Washed Out has returned with a proper LP that expands on Greene’s initial sound. Employing a glut of synths and electronic beats, Within and Without takes new wave to a new level while helping to modernize the sound. Mixing slowed dance beats with synth-heavy arrangements and electronica ornamentation, the album can be as sensually evocative as its album art. In all, it's a solid, unified offering — a must-listen.

- Text by Michael Danaher.

Samael: Lux Mundi (Season of Mist)

Samael: "Antigod"

Now approaching its 25th anniversary as a band, Switzerland's Samael has been a crucial piece of industrial metal's development. Lux Mundi, the band's ninth full-length album, continues in the tradition that it and countrymen Celtic Frost helped develop, moving away from black metal to incorporate industrial, electronic, and classical elements.

Whereas Above, Samael's last album, returned to the band's black-metal roots, the material on Lux Mundi is much more symphonic and mid-tempo, reveling in bombast as well as darkness. The raspy, gothic vocals, though straightforward, provide a degree of theatricality that again suits the dramatic music, which thrives thanks to lean, infectious riffs and regal synth flourishes.

Everyone has his or her favorite Samael album, and for some, Lux Mundi may never compete. But it's not a stretch to consider this among the most well-crafted releases of the band's post-black-metal days.

The Glitch Mob: We Can Make the World Stop EP (Glass Air)

The Glitch Mob: "Warrior Concerto"

With only one full-length release to its name, electronic trio The Glitch Mob has far surpassed its output with name recognition, thanks to a slew of high-profile remixes and digital mixtapes. That full-length, Drink the Sea, was a miniature modern cross-section of the genre, ranging from heavy drum-and-bass to dubstep grooves to sultry electronica. Now, following two full remix albums of Drink the Sea from earlier this year, the three-piece is tiding over fans with a three-track EP in advance of a new album in 2012.

True to its namesake, the music is glitchy, but there are plenty of dance-fueled beats and catchy melodies, as piano keys and faux strings mix with digitized vocals and bassy, buzzing synthesizers. "Warrior Concerto," the EP's single, winds a classical sample around chopped synths, rapid-fire drum fills, and a dance-floor foundation. It's a well-executed new direction and should be an exciting glimpse at what's next.

Honorable Mentions

Beware of Safety: Leaves/Scars (The Mylene Sheath)

Boban i Marko Markovic vs. Fanfare Ciocarlia: Balkan Brass Battle (Asphalt Tango)

The Cool Kids: When Fish Ride Bicycles (Green Label Sound)

Dave King Trucking Company: Good Old Light (Sunnyside)

Declaime: Self Study (Someothaship Connect)

Earth Crisis: Neutralize the Threat (Century Media)

Eleanor Friedberger: Last Summer (Merge)

In the Nursery: Blind Sound (Plastic Head Music)

Isis: Live IV Selections 2001 – 2005

Sepultura: Kairos (Nuclear Blast)

Zomby: Dedication (4AD)

Bohren & Der Club of Gore: Beileid (Ipecac)

Bohren & Der Club of Gore: "Zombies Never Die (Blues)"

With a mutual background in hardcore, grind, and other forms of extreme music, the members of Bohren & Der Club of Gore formed to begin a new "doom/horror jazz" experiment.  But when the German quartet came into its own in the early 1990s, its sounds weren't the types of brooding metal or bloodcurdling film scores that one might imagine.  Instead, ominous bass lines, spooky organ tones, guitar reverberations, and somber, elongated melodies formed the bulk of the band's "doom" elements.

Beileid, the group's latest, continues in the tradition of Twin Peaks- and Angelo Badalamenti-esque creepiness with deliberate tempos and jazzy intonations.  Vibraphone, Mellotron, and sax again build the slow-moving atmosphere in three lengthy tracks, the second of which is a darkened take on the song "Catch My Heart" by 1980s German hair-metallers Warlock.  At two-and-a-half times the length of the original, "Catch My Heart" is the balladic middle section of this 35-minute triptych, and it finds the incomparable Mike Patton turning the tones of Warlock lead singer Dorothee Pesch into deep vibratos.

The two originals stand out as well, but with melodies that feel like they're at quarter-speed, listeners require either patience or a love of unfolding ambience.

Pillars & Tongues: The Pass and Crossings (Endless Nest / Empty Cellar)

Pillars & Tongues: "The Making Graceful"

Led by interwoven, trance-inducing vocal dynamics and spiritual folk/chamber instrumentation, Pillars & Tongues achieves a surprising amount of power for merely a trio.  And thanks to the Chicago group's tireless touring schedule, underground explorers around the country have taken to its style, one that produces a great number of sonic textures.

With The Pass and Crossings, the trio again builds from the bellowing vocals of singer/percussionist Mark Trecka, the swirling melodies of violinist Beth Remis, and the bowed swells of upright bassist Evan Hydzik.  Harmonies, long-form repetitions, and sparse beats are crucial to the album's moments of buildup and release.  The result is a sonic spell, waiting to enchant those who hear it.

Thievery Corporation: Culture of Fear (ESL)

Thievery Corporation: "Culture of Fear" f. Mr. Lif

DJs Rob Garza and Eric Hilton comprise Thievery Corporation, a politically outspoken dub/lounge duo that has built a name for itself in Washington, DC with its world- and trip-hop-infused sounds.

Over the years, the two have incorporated a slew of politically minded collaborations into their albums.  The first on Culture of Fear features rapper and Def Jux alum Mr. Lif on the title track, which derides a never-changing security-alert system, the widening reach of the digital world, and shady bank loans.

Most of the duo's political messaging is left to interviews and guest spots, but song titles often hint at deeper issues or themes, and Culture of Fear does so with "Tower Seven" and "False Flag Dub."

Musically, the album is a bit more focused than some of its far-reaching predecessors, leaning on airy jams and minimalist bass grooves.  But it's still a down-tempo and occasionally funky and jazzy lounge mix, with sultry dub and trip-hop concoctions for other guest vocalists.  It's a mixture that doesn't grow tired despite the duo's many years together.

Ancestors: Invisible White EP (Tee Pee)

Ancestors: "Invisible White"

Ancestors has a flair for the epic. You likely won’t find the progressive LA band making a standard 12-track record full of four-minute songs with traditional song structures. Its 2008 debut, Neptune With Fire (profiled here), wove together the fantastical storytelling of a band like Rush with modern doom metal.

And though its new album, Invisible White, adheres to that same slow-burning, long-form formula, it marks a distinct departure into more mellow, experimental territory, à la Pink Floyd. The three-song EP kicks off with the title track, a lilting, acoustic-guitar-and-piano dirge that introduces each new instrument with measured deliberation — violin, drums, organ — and culminates in a moving lament of the elusive “Invisible White.”

Ultimately, Ancestors is driven by the credo “play the kind of music you’d want to hear,” and venturing into previously unexplored territory seems as effortlessly rote as putting a new record on the turntable.

- Text by Kyle Gilkeson.

Honorable Mentions

The Atomic Bitchwax: The Local Fuzz (Tee Pee)

Ramin Djawadi: Game Of Thrones soundtrack (Varèse Sarabande)

Arnold Dreyblatt: Resonant Relations (Cantaloupe)

Handsome Furs: Sound Kapital (Sub Pop)

Jolie Holland: Pint of Blood (Anti-)

Isis: Live III 12.17.04

The Laureates: Spells

Sbtrkt: s/t (Young Turks / XL)

See-I: s/t (Fort Knox)

White Wives: Happeners (Adeline)

YACHT: Shangri-La (DFA Records)

Isis: "Grinning Mouths" from Clearing the Eye live DVD (Ipecac, 9/26/06)

In June of 2010, post-metal quintet Isis called it quits following a farewell tour. The LA band was one year removed from its final studio release, Wavering Radiant, and feeling that it didn't want to "push past the point of a dignified death," its members parted ways right before the release of a split EP with Melvins.

Now the band is giving wistful fans another taste of its melodic sludge rock. On May 31, Isis posthumously and digitally reissued the first of its five live album, which originally were released over the span of 2004 to 2009.  The rest are being rolled out in two-week intervals, with the third becoming available this Tuesday, June 28.  ALARM recently spoke to drummer Aaron Harris about the reissues, the band's personal significance, and what the members have been doing since the breakup.

What was the catalyst in putting together the live album series?

We wanted to have something we could offer to the fans. We were getting a lot of live recordings coming in from fans that had been to our live shows, and it was just starting to pile up, and we figured we should do something with all these live recordings. So we started sifting through them and figured that we would do a little live series, release it ourselves, sell it at our shows, and make it a limited, special thing.

We did small runs of them, and once they were gone, they were gone. Recently, we decided that we would make them available digitally and reissue them. So that’s what we’re doing now. They’re digital reissues for people that weren’t able to get copies the first time. It’s just kind of a cool idea to strengthen the fan/band bond, something between us and the fans.

What do you miss about touring and playing with Isis?

The thrill and the energy of playing live. I don’t know if it can be replaced by anything else. There’s something special about touring and visiting your favorite cities and playing shows in some of your favorite spots and getting to see old friends. It’s something I’ve done since I was a teenager, so it was part of my life, and I guess, in a sense, it’s part of me, and it’s not there anymore. So I definitely miss it.

What kind of significance does the time that you spent with Isis hold for you in your personal life, professional career, etc.?

It’s a big part of who I am. I was a teenager…we grew up together. I’m 33 now, and I spent a lot of crucial years with the members of Isis and in the band, touring and building the band up. It definitely shaped who I am and made me a semi-established musician. A lot of important things happened for me throughout the career of Isis. The first time we got to tour in Europe — that was amazing. I had never really been outside of New England.

I grew up in Maine and spent some time in Boston; that’s where the band formed. I never really imagined that we would leave the New England area, let alone play shows in Australia, Europe, and Japan. I got to see a lot of places that I never thought I would get to see, which is pretty amazing just in itself. The fact that people on the other side of the world were fans of our band and willing to come out and see us play — that was pretty incredible.

Do you feel like there are any bands out now that have kind of picked up where Isis left off?

I see the name Isis tossed around in reviews in references to other bands when referencing a sound. I just saw something the other day, where a band was described as sounding like early Isis. It’s cool. That’s another thing that I never thought would happen — that we would be an influential band or make a stamp in the vast majority of music out there. It’s definitely an honor to be influencing other bands.

There seems to be a balance of light and darkness between the melodic guitars and driving bass, and the singing and more intense vocals. Is that something that Isis tried to accomplish?

It’s just something that evolved in our sound. Early on, we didn’t really know what we wanted. I mean, we had an idea of what the music we wanted to play would sound like. It wasn’t until a few albums into it that we started to develop our own sound. We always wanted to have a lot of dynamics. When you’re a young band, your idea of dynamics isn’t very focused. It was just loud and quiet, there wasn’t much in between. We had to work on the building part, composing the songs, making them flow and find our own sounds individually to make it all work. I don’t think it’s as simple as being quiet and loud. It’s almost like making your sound 3-D, like in all dimensions.

Do you feel like the sound changed a lot when Isis signed to Ipecac?

I guess so, yeah. I don’t think it really had anything to do with signing to Ipecac. That was the point at which we were taking the band a little more seriously, so I guess it did have a bit to do with that. We were able to make a living off the band and focus on it more full-time.

How do Isis songs take on a different shape in a live atmosphere as opposed to recording in the studio?

There are just elements to seeing a live band that you can’t really capture in the studio, and I think we were definitely a live band. I mean, I think our records are great, but we really existed in a live realm. To the Isis fans that didn’t see us live, it’s disappointing, but I think our records definitely hold up. It’s just two different things — there’s the record, and then there’s the live show. I think a lot of bands, their record is better than their live show. For us, that wasn’t the case. There was an element to the live shows that I think made us more of a live band.

What projects are you currently working on?

I’m still continuing to engineer, mix, and produce records. That was something I was doing on the side throughout the Isis career. Musically, I’ve just started playing again with Jeff [Caxide] and Cliff [Meyer] from Isis. We started a new band. We don’t have a name or anything yet, but we’ve written a handful of songs, and we’re continuing to write.

I think, right now, we’ve just focused on writing a record. The name and the idea for the release will come later. It’s more than half of Isis, so there’s going to be that sound in there, but it’s going to be different. Aaron Turner is in a band called Mamiffer with his wife. Mike Gallagher has a solo project called MGR and scored a film recently.

Have you considered the possibility of a reunion tour? Did you have that in mind when you started working on the live albums?

No…I mean, honestly, we’ve only been split up for a year. I think people are not really thinking about that. I’m not even sure if it’s a possibility. I hope that someday I will play with those guys again as a group, but a reunion, I’m not really too sure about. We all still keep in touch. We have a lot of live material and some stuff that we’ve been planning to release that we did for Wavering Radiant — some bonus tracks, live video footage. There will still be a few things coming out here and there for Isis.

It’s funny — I see people leaving comments on our Facebook page, and they're kind of confused, like, "I thought you guys broke up. It’s kinda weird that you guys are still doing stuff, but you’re broken up." That kind of confuses me. Just because we’re not continuing to write music as a band, we’re still trying to keep Isis alive. Not with new releases necessarily, but we still have some material that we want to release and plan on releasing. I just hope people can understand where we’re coming from.

World’s End Girlfriend: Seven Idiots (Erased Tapes)

World's End Girlfriend: "Teenage Ziggy"

World’s End Girlfriend is the wild, hyper-melodic project of Japanese composer Katsuhiko Maeda, whose vivid arrangements have created a following in his homeland and been used in critically acclaimed films. Originally released last year in Japan, Seven Idiots is his tenth studio album.

The music is a dense, larger-than-life blend of post-rock, classical music, and electronica, and within just the first minute of Seven Idiots, the listener is hit with a beautiful union of Battles-esque guitar lines, funky bass slaps, classical melodies, glitch beats, and squiggly synth lines. As the album progresses, it delves into polyrhythms, improvisation, and other complexities — particularly during the “Bohemian Purgatory” triptych — but a robust sense of melody and an opportunity for head-nodding are almost always at its core.

Helms Alee: Weatherhead (Hydra Head)

Helms Alee: "8/16"

With its 2008 debut album, Seattle trio Helms Alee forged a sound all its own — part metal, part post-punk, part melody-driven rock, and all abandon.

If it was Isis joining up with The Breeders for a quick outing into the wilderness, then the band's sophomore effort, Weatherhead, returns to the woods to find our friends older, craftier, and better bonded.

As a trio, the band's personal contributions are easier to discern: the driving, effected guitar and guttural screams of Ben Verellen, the distorted low end and breathy, light-weight vocals of bassist Dana James, and the steady, pounding aggression of Hozoji Matheson-Margullis.

On top of alternately punishing and pulchritudinous riffage, Verellen and James again are paired for vocal harmonies.  But this time around, they're joined by the assertive vocals of Matheson-Margullis, who leads a call-and-response exchange with the two in the standout single "8/16" and who adds screams to the title track.  James, however, takes the lead at other points, and she frequently harmonizes with Verellen's clean vocals to produce some of the album's most hypnotic tracks.

The egalitarianism of the vocals is nearly matched by the diversity of the music — albeit music that nearly always rocks.  But the soft moments are pronounced, and the acoustic interlude of "Anemone of the Wound" is a welcome change of pace.  This contrast and disparity makes Weatherhead just as compelling as its predecessor, while featuring additional growth as a trio.

3:33: The First Thousand Days (Parallel Thought Ltd.)

Stream the entire album here.

Just two months ago, the mysterious, experimental electronic group 3:33 released its debut album, 333LP1. Its follow-up has an uncharacteristically communicative title — The First Thousand Days (Bandcamp) — but the group's mechanical, idiosyncratic number/letter combinations are still present in the track list.

If it weren't so amorphous and downright sinister, The First Thousand Days would fall somewhere in the experimental electro-hop territory typified by musicians like Prefuse 73. It is set apart by a rawness of texture that recalls Amon Tobin's field-recording-style compositions, where the line between digital and analog is scuffed beyond recognition.

The mystery of the music, and of the artists themselves, is compounded by spare, muffled vocals and crunchy, textured instrumentation. The group's ability to simultaneously plod and pulsate, to move swiftly from tribal percussion to glacial ambience, is unmatched — and unsettling.

- Text by Kyle Gilkeson.

Seun Anikulapo Kuti: From Africa With Fury: Rise (Knitting Factory)

Seun Anikulapo Kuti: "Rise"

The youngest son of Afrobeat legend and political dissident Fela Kuti, saxophonist and singer Seun Anikulapo Kuti is the latest to continue the cherished legacy of his last name.  Similarly to Femi Kuti, Fela's eldest son, Seun maintains his family's tradition of activism and rump-shaking funk, both of which are prevalent on his sophomore album, Rise.

For the second time, Seun is joined by his famous father's Egypt 80 ensemble, a group that played with Fela 30 years ago.  The music, though not treading new ground, is chock full of tightly wound horn harmonies and dance-inducing rhythms, as filtered through the one-of-a-kind sounding board that is co-producer Brian Eno.

As per the album's title, there's plenty of political fury: "African Soldiers" addresses the cyclical nature of military governments throughout modern African history, and "You Can Run" dissects the cowardice of brutal dictators who flee when the prospect of justice is threatened.  "Rise," meanwhile, emphasizes tribal heritage, rejecting the imposed demarcations placed upon Africa by the Western world.

The fact that the music doesn't delineate from the Afrobeat legacy is irrelevant.  Africa, perhaps as much as ever, needs a messenger like Seun Kuti.

Honorable Mentions

Bon Iver: s/t (Jagjaguwar)

Cassettes Won’t Listen: Evinspacey (Daylight Curfew)

The Devin Townsend Project: Ghost (Century Media / Inside Out)

Elitist: Fear in a Handful of Dust (Season of Mist)

Father’s Children: s/t (Numero Group)

Grieves: Together/Apart (Rhymesayers)

Laurel Halo: Hour Logic (Hippos in Tanks)

Mark Wingfield & Kevin Kastning: I Walked into the Silver Darkness (Greydisc)

Painted Palms: Canopy EP (Secretly Canadian)

Ty Segall: Goodbye Bread (Drag City)

So Hideous, My Love…: To Clasp A Fallen Wish With Broken Fingers (Play The Assassin)

Viva Voce: The Future Will Destroy You (Vanguard)

White Hills: H-p1 (Thrill Jockey)

The Book of Knots: Garden of Fainting Stars (Ipecac)

The Book of Knots: "Microgravity"

Garden of Fainting Stars is the third installment in the "By Sea, By Land, By Air" trilogy of The Book of Knots, a collaborative studio project that's built around the quartet of producer/musician Joel Hamilton, bassist Tony Maimone, drummer Matthias Bossi, and violinist Carla Kihlstedt.

As on the previous two albums, the band delivers a dissonant yet melodic mix of pitch-bending, alien effects, and textured, metallic tones, and an all-star stable of guests again helps narrate the album's tales, this time relating to aeronautics.  Garden of Fainting Stars, however, feels the most cohesive of the three albums, as the core group comes closer to perfecting its brand of disconsolate rock experimentation.

But as expected, there's plenty of variety from track to track.  After the crunchy guitars and ascendant vocals of album opener "Microgravity," a brooding backdrop is set for "Drosophla Melanogaster," which includes narration by Blixa Bargeld of Einsturzende Neubauten.

The rest of the album's guests, consisting of extended musical family, include Mike Patton, Trey Spruance of Secret Chiefs 3, Mike Watt, Nils Frykdahl of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, and Dawn McCarthy of Faun Fables.  Patton's soft croons introduce "Planemo" before sonorous synthesizers darken the horizon, and shortly thereafter, potentially post-apocalyptic radio ramblings close the album on "Obituary for the Future."  It ends the trilogy in pessimism and mystery — fitting for an album that is self-described as a "wormless, rusty hook into the lifeless seas of the music industry, expecting to reap only sorrow."

Bosco Delrey: Everybody Wah (Mad Decent / Downtown)

Bosco Delrey: "Baby's Got a Blue Flame"

Bosco Delrey is one curious cat, one whose debut album is a Jon Spencer-esque roots-rock revival that incorporates strong elements of electronica and psychedelia.  Following a pair of seven-inch releases earlier this year, Everybody Wah is that debut, marking the arrival of a dynamic 21st Century songwriter.

In addition to the traditional rock elements, the album uses a plethora of modern sounds, from fuzz bass to drum machines to synthesizers.  "Archebold Ivy" is one of more genre-blended songs on the album, combining a classically flavored harpsichord melody with dance-fueled synth lines and Delrey's throwback vocals.  That's immediately followed by "Afterlife," a soulful yet futuristic faux-string-tinged amalgamation.  "Cool Out" borrows some Venetian Snares-style drum and bass over a simple sweeping backdrop, and "Insta Love" follows with a romantic rock-and-roll ballad.

If you haven't heard Bosco Delrey's name yet, introduce yourself.  And if you have, prepare to hear more of it.

Arkona: Stenka na Stenku (Napalm)

Arkona: "Stenka na Stenku"

Based in Moscow, Arkona is a raucous Russian folk- and pagan-metal band led by the alternately harmonious and growling vocals of Maria "Scream" Arhipova.  The Stenka na Stenku EP, which follows five full-length studio releases, is a fun, brief blast of tunes that mix power metal with wind instruments such as bagpipes, flute, and ocarina.

The result, though jarring for the uninitiated, is a mix that doesn't grow tiresome over the six tracks.  "Valenki" has an upbeat yet blazing delivery, pairing speed picking with rapid bass kicks, wily accordion riffs, and guttural folk chants.  But Stenka na Stenku also reels it back, offering an acoustic rendition of "Goi, Rode, Goi!" — the title track from Arkona's 2009 album — for something haunting and wailing, anchored by cello strikes, throat singing, and layers of old-world vocals.

Erik Friedlander: Bonebridge (SkipStone)

Erik Friedlander: "Beaufain Street"

Cellist/composer Erik Friedlander long has been associated with John Zorn and the downtown New York City scene, but his considerable abilities have made him known as a bandleader as well as prolific sideman, counting collaborations with musicians as diverse as Kaki King, Ikue Mori, John Vanderslice, Vinicius Cantuaria, and Kelly Clarkson.

Bonebridge is Friedlander's latest as a leader, weaving a melodic blend of Americana and jazz with guitarist Doug Wamble, bassist Trevor Dunn, and drummer Mike Sarin.  This time around, Friedlander emphasizes pizzicato playing on his cello as he balances melody and feel with technical prowess.

This plus Wamble's Southern slide guitar are the defining characteristics of the album — yet the rhythm section is never lacking.  Dunn's upright-bass grooves root the album for leads from Friedlander and Wamble, although he is free to roam from time to time.  On occasion, Wamble's twangy tones nearly resemble a sitar; when less the focus, his guitar drifts in and out with soft murmurs.

Bonebridge actually began as material for Friedlander's Broken Arm Trio, which includes Dunn and Sarin.  But it quickly became more in Friedlander's mind, and Wamble was invited to expand the timbral possibilities.  The sonic destination is ground that Friedlander had yet to tread, which gets increasingly harder as his catalog grows ever larger.

Marissa Nadler: s/t (Box of Cedar)

Marissa Nadler: "Baby, I Will Leave You in the Morning"

After garnering a greater following with a pair of releases on Kemado Records,"dream folk" singer/songwriter Marissa Nadler has had to self-release her latest, self-titled album, made possible by a successful Kickstarter campaign.

The album being self-titled seems to signify a new starting point, which is reflected by her Box of Cedar label name and the fact that the album only features two players, Nadler and Carter Tanton.

As in the past, however, the music features healthy accompaniment to Nadler's airy, multi-tracked vocals and cavernous reverberations.  This time they come in the form of bells and glockenspiel, pedal-steel guitar, synthesizer, marimba, light drumming, and more.  Nadler calls the collection her "most honest and natural," and that's hard to dispute.  Each track offers a new direction without forcing it, and the entire album is unified by Nadler's idiosyncrasies and songwriting skills.

The Dear Hunter: The Color Spectrum condensed CD & 9-EP collection (Triple Crown)

The Dear Hunter: "Deny It All"

The Dear Hunter, begun as simply a side project, has since blossomed into a theatrical prog-pop band that now has multiple multi-album concept cycles. The group’s newest completion is a nine-EP project called The Color Spectrum, inspired by the colors of the rainbow (plus black and white).

Released as individual 10-inch records and as a single CD with limited selections, the music is as assorted as its inspirations. Black is sonorous, martial, deep, and reverberating; White is ethereal and hymn-like in places, but also doggedly cheerful. Blue is playful, youthful, and driven, churning and giddy; Green is ebullient, relaxed, and expansive; Red is sexy and insinuating as well as aggressive.

- Text by Summer Block. Read the full story in Chromatic: The Crossroads of Color and Music.

Honorable Mentions

Aaron Goldberg & Guillermo Klein: Bienestan (Sunnyside)

Diskjokke: Sagara (Smalltown Supersound)

Elysian Fields: Last Night on Earth (Ojet)

Isis: Live II 03.19.03

John Shannon & Wings of Sound: Songs of the Desert River (Creek Valley)

The Mattson 2: Feeling Hands (Galaxia)

This Morn' Omina: L'Unification des Forces Opposantes (Ant-Zen)

Terakaft: Aratan N Azawad (World Village)

Vetiver: The Errant Charm (Sub Pop)

Junk Science & Scott Thorough: Phoenix Down (Modern Shark)

Junk Science & Scott Thorough: "Box Art"

After a sophomore album on Definitive Jux that leaned on R&B, jazz, and cut-up vocal samples, hip-hop duo Junk Science has made a new beginning for itself with its first release on MC Baje One's new label, Modern Shark.

Somewhere between a long EP and a mini LP, Phoenix Down is a nostalgic collaboration with producer Scott Thorough — offering a journey back to 1980s video-game scores with modern nerd rap on top.  The music consists of original creations on 8-bit synthesizers, with beats by Thorough and DJ Snafu, and it's the best of the duo's catalog.

Fittingly, there are plenty of video-game and pop-culture references, including the famous Contra code in the chorus of "30 Lives."  Baje also rolls a cast of video-game characters into "In the Shadow of the Colossus," but like most of the other tracks, the references serve as metaphors for a greater theme — here, it's about confrontation, fear, and heroics.

My Morning Jacket: Circuital (ATO)

My Morning Jacket: "Holdin' on to Black Metal"

On paper, My Morning Jacket seems predictable — a hairy, five-piece rock-'n'-roll band from Louisville, Kentucky, known for rocking epic shows with twangy Flying V guitars and boatloads of reverb. Yet time and again, Jim James and company have explored diverse sonic interests including psychedelia, dance, funk, and R&B.

These explorations approached excessive indulgence on the band’s last album, Evil Urges, in 2008. But now, on Circuital, MMJ has found a sweet spot; its spacey Americana merges with an ever-simmering intensity that never dips too far into left field but often comes to a roaring head of both electric and vocal wailing. The band is also capable of dialing things back into folk territory, as evidenced on the Neil Young-esque “Wonderful (The Way I Feel).” More than a return to roots that its title suggests, Circuital is a document of a band comfortable in its own skin.

- Text by Kyle Gilkeson

Shabazz Palaces: Black Up (Sub Pop)

Shabazz Palaces: "An Echo from the Hosts that Profess Infinitum"

Hovering below the radar and intentionally light on biographical info, Shabazz Palaces is a hip-hop project that's spearheaded by Palaceer Lazaro, better known as Ishmael Butler, a.k.a. Butterfly of Digable Planets.

But don’t expect to hear smooth, jazz-infused rap from Shabazz Palaces. After two acclaimed EPs, the group offers a discordant, avant-garde rap album with its first full-length, Black Up.

The opener, "Free Press and Curl," assaults the listener with relentlessly repetitive bass blasts. Melodic flourishes arise occasionally, but mostly, the production is little more than bursts of low-end buzz.  Black Up rewards listeners who have invested in quality woofers, especially given that Lazaro’s rapping is mixed low, and his flow doesn't often sync with album's rhythms.

But the record isn’t all avant-rap experimentation. Strong melodies and consistent beats make their appearances, such as on “Recollections of the Wraith” and “Endeavors for Never.”  These tracks feature female vocalists as well, and the contrast between the clear, melodic vocals and the vast majority of the record’s music — with Lazaro’s tinny-sounding, low-mixed rapping — is refreshing, breaking up a possibly monotonous listen.

- Text by Tom Harrison

Honorable Mentions

Artichaut Orchestra: T is for Teresa (Tzadik)

Cheer-Accident: No Ifs, Ands or Dogs (Cuneiform)

Dark Castle: Surrender to All Life Beyond Form (Profound Lore)

Isis: Live I 9.23.03

Jeremy Udden’s Plainville: If the Past Seems So Bright (Sunnyside)

Anders Koppel: String Quartets | Mezzo Saxophone Quintet (Dacapo)

Melvins: Sugar Daddy Live (Ipecac)

Ocote Soul Sounds: Taurus (ESL)

Richard Pinhas & Merzbow: Rhizome (Cuneiform)

Tartar Lamb II: Polyimage of Known Exits LP

Vast Aire: Can Ox 2010: A Street Odyssey (Fat Beats)

Son Lux: We Are Rising (Anticon)

Son Lux: "Rising"

Composer / pianist / electronic artist Ryan Lott writes music for a post-production company, for dance productions and the arts, and, when he finds the time, as Son Lux, where he joins the worlds of classical orchestration and hip-hop pastiche.

For his second full-length album, We Are Rising, that spare time was in especially short supply, as the eclectic musician took a challenge from NPR (inspired by The Wire) to write and record the entire thing over the course of the shortest month of the year.

Given the album's level of craftsmanship and production, listeners would never guess the impulsive dare that set it in motion.  Its nine songs are even more meticulously arranged than the Son Lux debut album, At War With Walls and Mazes, and they achieve a remarkable range of sounds, from traditional (woodwinds, brass, strings) to modern (synthesizers, guitar effects, collected sounds).

The combination of styles makes Lott something of a Sufjan Stevens for the beat crowd (Anticon releases his albums, after all).  We Are Rising finds him moving further in Stevens' direction — fewer beats and more neoclassical orchestrations behind the indie balladry.  But these songs still bear a distinct Son Lux stamp, and they're a down payment on an ever-promising future.

Graviton: Massless (Translation Loss)

Graviton: "Mu Lepton"

Featuring guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Sacha Dunable of progressive-metal outfit Intronaut, psych/space/post-metal trio Graviton makes its recorded debut with a husky 10-track full-length.

Moments of elongated singing and slow, deep riffs draw comparisons to Isis and its ilk, but the band as a whole sounds very different. With intermittent piano melodies, synthesizers, 12-string acoustic guitar, and programmed beats — not to mention sonic accessories such as lap-steel guitar, field recordings, and "Celloblaster" — Massless is a new brand of spacey post-metal.

Throughout the album's 45 minutes, Graviton strikes a healthy balance between melody and dissonance, accessibility and complexity, and past and future.  Three-part vocal harmonies coast over plummeting canyons of riffage, only to segue to extended acoustic interludes or spoken-word samples about particle physics.  Post-metal lovers may have a new favorite band, and everyone else has something exciting to discover.

NOW Ensemble: Awake (New Amsterdam)

NOW Ensemble: "Burst"

In 2008, New Amsterdam Records opened shop to release and promote music by boundary-breaking classical musicians. The NOW Ensemble, a melodically inclined chamber quintet, launched the label with its previous album, and Awake ever so slightly expands the group's timbres for another dynamic collection of melodic and rhythmic interplay.

Featuring compositions by NOW guitarist Mark Dancigers, New Amsterdam co-founder / NOW composer Judd Greenstein, and New Amsterdam label-mate Missy Mazzoli, the album finds the ensemble's arsenal of flute, clarinet, electric guitar, upright bass, and piano dancing together in an arresting display of harmony and counterpoint.

Throughout Awake, simple and complex repetitions are deftly woven together, forming patterns that engage listeners while urging their ears to dig deeper, layer by layer.  Even a distant touch of dark, distorted guitar and ominous accents complement "Velvet Hammer" and "Magic with Everyday Objects," and perhaps future albums by NOW Ensemble will share traits with more of the New Amsterdam roster.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed / Despise You: And On and On… (Relapse)

Agoraphobic Nosebleed: "As Bad As It Is"

Despise You: "Bereft"

Short, fast, and to the point. That's the MO of Despise You, a no-nonsense hardcore outfit from California whose first material in 10 years comprises half of this split release with grindcore masters Agoraphobic Nosebleed.

With 18 tracks that average just a minute each, Despise You packs as much into its half as possible, offering terse exclamations over basic riffs, distorted low end, and push beats.  ANb introduces itself with a sludgy down-tempo track — a style that swerves from Agorapocalypse, its last album of assailing tempos, squealing guitar leads, and lightning-quick fret work. Its second track, however, returns those familiar sounds, and the following two "songs" challenge Despise You for the album's shortest durations (25 and 27 seconds).

Bill Frisell: Sign of Life (Music for 858 Quartet) (Savoy Jazz)

Bill Frisell: "It's a Long Story (1)"

Over the span of his 30-year career, guitarist Bill Frisell has shifted further away from jazz and experimental styles and further toward country, western, and folk instrumentals.  Sign of Life, his latest with the string-based 858 Quartet, is another in the instrumental folk vein, albeit one whose group was borne of improvisation.

The 858 Quartet is Frisell plus three esteemed string players — violist Eyvind Kang (Secret Chiefs 3, Sunn O))), John Zorn), violinist Jenny Scheinman (Vinicius Cantuaria, Marc Ribot), and cellist Hank Roberts (Tim Berne).  In 2005, they created an improvised take on works by German artist Gerhard Richter, but they've since grown into a regular unit, and Sign of Life marks a decided shift to composition.

Written during a composing retreat, the album has soloing and apparent moments of improv, but it's markedly closer in style and spirit to Frisell's Disfarmer project or Beautiful Dreamers trio (which also features Kang).  The Richter 858 album, which is much more dissonant and whose beauty is more subjective, might be best considered a musical caterpillar — eventually morphing into something more striking and graceful.

Honorable Mentions

Blue Sky Black Death: Noir (Fake Four)

Boxcutter: The Dissolve (Planet Mu)

Daedelus: Bespoke (Ninja Tune)

Deafheaven: Roads to Judah (Deathwish)

Steve Earle: I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive (New West)

Explosions in the Sky: Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (Temporary Residence)

Jefferson Friedman (w/ Chiara String Quartet & Matmos): Quartets (New Amsterdam)

Jookabox: The Eyes of the Fly (Joyful Noise)

Kambar Kalendarov & Kutman Sultanbekov: Jaw (Cantaloupe)

Klang: Other Doors (Music of Benny Goodman) (Allos Documents)

Daniele Luppi: Malos Hábitos soundtrack (Ipecac)

Nine 11 Thesaurus: Ground Zero Generals (The Social Registry)

Primordial: Redemption at the Puritan's Hand (Metal Blade)

Small Brown Bike: Fell & Found (No Idea Records)

Tindersticks: Claire Denis Film Scores, 1996-2009 (Constellation)

Tombs: "Gossamer"

“It’s about control and discipline,” Tombs frontman/guitarist Mike Hill says. The Brooklyn metal three-piece and I are sitting at a picnic table outside Waterloo Records during the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas. Hill’s words particularly stand out against the carefree atmosphere of the five-day, live-music festival. Outside a business conference and trade show at the Austin Convention Center, SXSW can easily resemble an independent-music Mardi Gras, with many concertgoers drinking waterfalls of Texas’ Lonestar Beer, seeing as many shows as physics allows, and generally partying their hearts out around the clock.

Tombs is on its first tour since the release of its debut full-length, Winter Hours. The album is a haunting hybrid of metal and hardcore, covered with thick coatings of noise and pristine melody. At Waterloo, the band completed its third set in roughly 24 hours after an overnight drive from Little Rock, Arkansas. Despite the demanding schedule, its members show no sign of fatigue; their commitment to discipline and control has paid off.

“To do what we’re doing at the level we want to be doing it at, you have to have a certain amount of dedication and a certain amount of professionalism and discipline,” Hill says. “There is a very narrow margin of personal conduct that is acceptable.”

He goes on, “I’m talking about being able to go as hard as you can, to know that you’ve really brought something to the table. There is no connotation of financial success or anything other than a level of personal achievement.” Hill is pleasant and conversational, but there is a serious undertone to everything he says, like a revered sensei in a ninja film waxing philosophy to his disciples. “In this substrata of marginal music, it’s easy to get covered over by other people unless you have your act together.”

When it comes to the dos and don'ts of playing in an independent band, Hill certainly knows what he is talking about. Starting in Boston in the early 1990s, he has been a staple in the underground hardcore community, playing in a number of bands and fronting hardcore powerhouse Anodyne for the better part of a decade (1997–2005) before starting the esoteric Versomna. An accomplished producer as well as a musician, Hill has recorded albums by heavy bands such as Isis, Lickgoldensky, and Piebald, and he owns his own label, Black Box Recordings.

Hill started Tombs in 2007. Bassist Carson Daniel James joined a few months later, after original bassist Dominic Seita amicably parted to develop NYC doom quartet A Storm of Light. The trio released a self-titled EP on Black Box / Level Plane before signing to Relapse Records, and drummer Andrew Hernandez joined just after the sessions for Winter Hours were complete, learning the band’s entire set in just nine days prior to a European tour.

Like Hill, James and Hernandez are both rooted in the DIY punk community. Hernandez relays humorous tales of his formative years as a 14-year-old concert promoter from a small town in Massachusetts. He would find bands’ phone numbers on seven-inch records and randomly call them to ask them to play a show or for a place to crash after taking a one-way bus trip to concerts in their cities.
 

“I’m talking about being able to go as hard as you can, to know that you’ve really brought something to the table. There is no connotation of financial success or anything other than a level of personal achievement.”

“I figured that I’d either find a place to stay or I’d sleep on some steps,” Hernandez recalls. “I was at the show; that was all that mattered.” Two of his most successful calls, as it turns out, were to future band-mate Hill during his Anodyne years and to his future label manager, Relapse's Gordon Conrad.

Hill’s sentiment towards control is echoed by his band-mates. “We like a certain amount of self-sacrifice,” Hernandez says. Although they are far from monks, the members of Tombs take pride in staunch dedication to their craft and their willingness to push themselves to the limit with their music. They maintain a rigorous practice schedule, whether writing new material or preparing for a tour.

“It’s learning how to react without thinking,” James explains. “It’s doing what seems obvious, rather than fumbling.” Hill agrees. “In a live setting, anything can happen,” he says. “It’s like when you’re on a special recon mission for military operations: you rely on your training to get you through everything. We rely on practice to get us through the rough spots. Personally, I am using more effects and technology with this band than I have in the past. With that component, a lot of things can go wrong.”

Winter Hours was recorded by Ian Whalen and John Chambers at Etching Tin Studios in Richmond, Virginia. With the financial support afforded by the new label, Hill was able to step away from the control room for the first time in order to concentrate on his songs. “I still wanted to have production influence,” he says, “but as far as engineering goes, it was more important for me to focus on execution of parts and performances.”

Most of Tombs’ songs are developed out of Hill’s ideas, with the other members writing their parts during rehearsals. James observes that, because of the limitations of practicing as a three-piece, the other members often learn about the atmospheric effects that Hill has planned for each track only once the recording process has begun. For his part, Hill says that every sound on the record is deliberate. Nothing is left to chance.

“I spend a lot of my time planning it all out so that when we get to the studio, it’s strictly execution,” he says. “I know a lot of it sounds experimental, but there is really none of that stuff going on.” The overall effect, best articulated on opening number “Gossamer” and “The Divide,” is much like a heavier take on the “Wall of Sound” developed by Phil Spector, a producer whose studio work Hill especially admires.

Lyrically, much of Winter Hours was inspired by a series of nightmares Hill had about the Apocalypse, which, in hindsight, he relates to his dissatisfaction with the Bush administration (though his penchant for reading about conspiracy theories couldn’t have helped much).

“It was kind of subconscious,” he says. “It was bubbling to the surface for a year. Now that I have a little distance, I feel like a lot of it was the Republican presence and George W. Bush. I feel optimistic now that he is out of the office. There was a certain powerlessness and vulnerability that came from that time. Filtering other emotions through that resulted in the bulk of the lyrics on that record. They’re personal ruminations filtered through political observations.”

Though the presidential office has since changed hands, Tombs doesn’t see the mood of its music changing. “There’s always a dark cloud,” James notes. Hill explains, “The music itself is just intensity. There are bands like Michael Gira from Swans who play acoustic music, but it is still the most intense music there is.”

With Winter Hours still fresh on the shelves, Tombs is already working new material, and it has become evident that though the atmosphere may stay the same, the music will differ from anything that the band has done before. “The changing of our drummer will, without a question, propel our music in a new direction, whether we consciously go there or not, which is good,” James says. “It’s a constant flux, without having to be pigeonholed into one thing.”

Tombs is open to new sounds in its music, so long as the inspiration comes from within the band, rather than following trends. “If [a change in sound] is true and you alienate someone, at least you’re keeping yourself happy,” Hill says. Yet in the members’ quest for their own satisfaction, they’ve neglected to realize that they are making music that outsiders can enjoy as well.

The members of Tombs are genuinely surprised at the positive reception that they’ve received from fans, explaining that they have no expectations of others. “It’s one of the main things I apply to most of the aspects of my life,” Hill says. “If you don’t expect anything, that gives you a certain level of freedom.”

Tombs holds itself to different standards altogether. “There is a division, really,” Hill adds. “I demand an incredible amount from myself, but it is all personal achievement. Do I expect anyone to acknowledge what I do? I would say no. When I go out of this world, I want to know that I did my best. I want to go out knowing that I did what I could, regardless if anyone cares. If people want to acknowledge it, that’s great. But I don’t expect that from anybody.”

Still, people are increasingly paying attention, and in its short time as a band, Tombs has found fans in underground metal and punk circles as well as new listeners in some unlikely places. James recalls a recent show in San Antonio opening for British electronic producer Tricky where a new fan approached the group and mused, “You are up there just doing your thing. It doesn’t seem like you’re writing for anyone but yourselves.”

James pauses before remarking, “I guess what it comes down to is that we’re still three guys in a practice space who are friends and live in the same area, playing music that we want to play without thinking outwardly about what other people want to hear.”