Trioscapes - 'Separate Realities' (metalblade) 4.5/5

Oooo interesting. Metalblade records have a deserved reputation for being the home of all things good and extreme in metal, but every so often, like all good labels should, they do like to pitch a curve ball, and this album from US jazz/rock fusion outfit Trioscapes is just such a pitch. Featuring bassist Dan Briggs (Between the Buried and Me), saxpert Walter Fancourt (Casual Curious, Brand New Life) and drummist Matt Lynch (Eyris) this lot came together as a one off project to record a cover version of the Mahavishnu Orchestra classic Celestial Terrestrial Commuters. This in turn lead to the idea of a one off gig so more music was penned and as is often the way with such ideas things soon snowballed and soon Trioscapes were born and this their debut album was recorded.

Now my liking for jazz was formed at a very tender age. I grew up in the household of a jazz loving father and I knew the tunes to the likes of Dave Brubecks Take Five before I could sing most nursery rhymes; and although over the years since I have grown to become a bit of a rock and metal nut,  the soft spot for jazz is still there deep down.

There are six cuts on offer here, all very nice chilled out and perfectly performed sweet sax lead jazz workouts that serve equally well as background music and as music for active listening. Now I like jazz but I don't really know the language of the musical form, so I'll leave the technical analysis of this one to the more expert jazz reviewers, but I will say cuts like the chilled out Curse of The Ninth and the epic and driving title track, along with the aforementioned Mahavishnu cover all make for one great listen.

Fans of jazz and jazz rock will love this one up big time and anyone who is a little 'jazz curious' will find this a good place to start their own jazz odyssey.

NICE....

 For fans of... Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, King Crimson, Colosseum....

The Dynamite Pussy Club - 'Church Of Yeah!' (Motorsounds Records) 4.5/5

For such a middle class and gentile city Bath has a surprising habit of serving up some real left field alternative music, and now in the wake of the likes of Amebix, Fabric, The Subhumans and The Flame I bring you The Dynamite Pussy Club with this their debut album.

Now you can tell this lot have a bit of an anarchic approach to music when you read their press blurb and see they list amongst their influences as The Three Stooges and David Lynch; and list in their interests Brillcream, pointy white leather shoes and sausages. Obviously a band who don't take themselves too seriously, and thats already a good mark in my book.

With a line up of a drummer and two guitarists (one of which occasionally breaks out a theremin) this lot play a form of very anarchic rockerbilly / psychobilly, sort of Brides Of Kong meets The Cramps type of thing with added disco noise and a bucket of tongue in cheek attitude. there are ten cuts on offer, nine of which come in at the two and a half minute or less, with the closer, Boogie Sides being a four and half minute epic by comparison. All in all the tunes on offer are pretty sweet, tracks like Testify, Under The Groove (in my opinion the albums stand out cut), Sick and Allergic Reaction all bounce by in a wall of glorious irreverent fun filled boogie, that leaves you hungry for more.

Musically this is pretty cool as well, despite a deliberately messy approach the performances here are tight, engaging and entertaining, with Chris Mambo's Jerry Lee Lewis style snearing vocals, Danny Sauve's noise guitar work and Eddie Boogies tribal drumming all combining to make one hell of a sonic experience.

All in all this a damn fine debut from a band that shows a shed load of promise and I'm tipping for bigger and better things.

Well worth checking out

For fans of... The Cramps, The Brides Of Kong, The Meteors, Elvis Hitler etc.....

Betty Swallaux - 'Grinding Betty' (self released) 4.5/5

Just a few short months after hitting the world with a very strong demo release, Llanelli grindcore experimentalists Betty Swallaux are back with their debt album.

If you have managed to track down Betty Swallaux's demo you'll know Gaz Wooloff and his crew have developed an almost unique sound, blending elements of industrial grindcore and extreme metal sensibilities with 'nintendo-core' style electronica, elements of progressive rock and great slices of traditional punk, add in the in your face use of drum machines and loops and the result is a sound that is as near unique as you'll hear anywhere.

This nifty eight tracker kicks off with Fantasy, a nifty little number that starts out sounding like something from a 1990's console game sound track before plunging head long into a wall of glorious Electro Hippies influenced noise. Other high points include Ramstein on acid industrial grind of Deep, the wonderful Give Me Some More, a track that bizarrely wouldn't sound to out of place on an album by the late great Robert Calvert and gloriously brutal Cruel Britannia (in my books the stand out track on the album) with its damning political lyrics and breakneck slam dance frenzy riffing.

There a couple of cover versions on show here as well... the old Divynils standard I Touch My Self is a pretty straight forward rendition in the Betty Swallaux style and makes for an enjoyable listen. Then theres a stripped down and rebuilt version of America (Just Say No), an early single by Bristol band Alien Stash Tin that blows the balls off the original.

Another plus here is the production, Its about as slick as its possible to get with a home recording rig and still maintain Betty Swallaux unique sound and jagged edge attack. Something the guys should be proud of.

Over all Betty Swallaux are one of the most unique, innovative and exciting projects around at the moment and should be bound for international cult status at the very least, and this album will only go to help that process along in fine style.

SUPERB!!!

For fans of... Ramstein, Amebix, 23 Skidoo, Electro Hippies, Elephant 12....

Avenge Thee + Naime - "Open Carpet" (self released) 4.5/5

Experimental sludge 'n' grind outfit Avenge Thee + Naime are a funny lot, they never play on a stage - even at major festivals - preferring to set up in the middle of the crowd instead, they have two drummers and claim to '...eschew the usual heavy metal traits of machismo and raw anger, instead preaching a message of unity and optimism'. But then you notice they hail from Canterbury, home of the likes of Soft Machine, Camel, Caravan, Gong and Todd Dillingham, and the Canterbury music scene has never marched instep with the rest of the musical world.

In fact as you listen through this eight tracker you begin to notice that despite all the doomy sludge grind sensibilities the true anarchic spirit of the classic Canterbury sound still shines through. The music on offer here is gloriously left field, very trippy and strangely uplifting.

Tracks such as Maximum Purity (Buy My Water) with it's soft acoustic intro, slow doomy and discordent build up politically aware lyrics; and the almost death jazz Wound Licker with its complex riff structure and sub-Amebix drive, go to show that this is the new 'hippy' rock for post 9-11 generation. This is the sound of future free festivals, the anthems for those who say NO to the system and want to do something about it.

To say I find this album engaging, accessable and highly enjoyable is a great understatement. My personal highlight has to be The Chode with its relentless post tribal beats, angry rant vocals, primal scream backing vocals and relentless driving beat that does indeed sound something that Gong would have recorded if they had invented sludge grind back in the early 1970s'.

In short this is a great record, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to hear something a little outside the box.

For fans of... Amebix, Gong, Rolo Tomassi, Leather Nun, Somnus.....

Lehmon - 'Sampler EP' (self released) 4.5/5

Oooo this is a good 'un. Lehmon are a two piece project from Paris over there in France that consists of Walter Monnen and Michele Leonor and they claim to be inspired by everything from modern pop and rock through to various European and Middle Eastern folk traditions. Their debut album 'Golden Mountains and Dark Valley's' is due out early next year but they have just put out this four track sampler ep to give the world an idea of what to expect.

Now I do like acts that know how to mix their sounds and influences up a bit, and thus I am finding this four tracker a very compelling listen. We have alsorts on offer here; A Hundred Centuries is a bit of psychedelic weirdness that comes over like maybe a tuneful Tom Waites or possibly Alien Sex Fiend stripped of the gothic trappings, Crepuscular Dream is a glorious slice of light weight post gothic darkness that sounds like a bit of sound trackage from a Tim Burton animation, I Need to Love You is a Krankshaft like helping of acid pop ballad weirdness and That's All is a plaintiff duet that could be part of the sound track to an ultra left field stage musical - all pit orchestra and soft shoe shuffle slow dance beats. Add in some very engaging tongue firmly in cheek lyrics, some superb vocal and instrumental performances and some attentive production and you have here a cracking ep that leaves the listener hungry from the full album. All very very good stuff indeed.

Until this arrived Lehmon were completely new to me, but I'm now a bit of a fan and I'll be following their progress very closely from now on.

Recommended

For Fans of - Krankshaft, Tom Waites, Rocky Horror Show, The Enid, Bauhaus......

Uneven Structure - 'Februus' (basick records) 3.5/5

It's strange, only a few weeks ago I was saying how I rarely get much French music through my inbox, since then I've had new albums from Glorior Belli, The Crooked Axis and now this one from Uneven Structures. Apparently they are from Metz  and have previously put out an ep prior to this their full length debut

Now I'll be honest and say this one has me stumped. I'm not sure if this one of the greatest things I've ever heard or the biggest musical car crash of all time. Style wise it is an eclectic blend, Meshuggah style death metal, Tangerine Dream or Goblin style ambient trip, King Crimson progressive complexity, Pink Floyd-u-like urgency, even hints of Sky's post classical stylings... its all in here, more often than not at the same time and the end result is certainly interesting if not compelling.

The upside is that Uneven Structures do have something verging on unique going on here, there are some very impressive musical soundscapes. Tracks like Exmersion, Buds and to be honest the whole damn album are well penned and produced and expertly performed. The tracks flow seamlessly together giving the whole work a full blown concept album feel that makes for a good entertaining listen.

The downside is that the whole work comes over a tad confused and a little messy on the ears and a bit lacking in dynamics. The death metal sections come over very tame indeed. After all death metal is supposed to bludgeon and kill, but on this one the deathisms are as menacing as a fluffy kitten with a water pistol. And the chilled out ambient moments strike you as being very restless, like trying to chill out in a bed that has been filled with toast crumbs. The end result is an album that promises much and should be a real roller coaster ride of sounds and emotions ends up less of a roller coaster and more of a local commuter train. Compare this album to Fornost Arnors recent 'Death Of A Rose' opus, and you soon see not only what this album could have been, but also how far short of the mark it falls.

Having said all that after a couple of play throughs it is growing on me slowly, and I'm sure after living with it for a few months I'll be really liking this one. Basically my jury is still out, but don't let that put you off giving it a go.

For fans of... Spires, Fornost Arnor, Fortune Favours The Brave,

The Swine - 'The Shade of Shit To Come' (self released) 4/5

The Swine are in reality one Canadian guy by the name of Aaron M. whose mission statement is 'to commit artistic suicide' and describes his music as powered by "sleep deprivation, shitty broken guitars, vox amps, a microphone he bought at value village for 4 dollars,", yup we are talking 'bedroomcore' time.

Now after many years of being an avid John Peel listener, I've grown fond of this type of ultra low-fi stripped down DIY punk and hardcore, and while I will admit, there is nothing here that will ever bother anything but the ears of the most underground and adventurous listener, for those who like their music so far out of left field it is disappearing over the boundary fence, this tasty five tracker has a lot to offer.

The opening cut Neon Suicide 1997 comes over a bit like a stripped down Melt-Banana, or Rolo Tomassi after an Eve Spence sex swap opp, all angry and angsty sonic experimentation. On the next track, Radio Hit, we are heading into more traditional hardcore territory with a sound that comes across a bit like and early demo from The Oppressed. Enriching Your Life Through The Power of Grindcore is classic crust core in the vien of The Electro Hippies, whilst Everyone Dies wouldn't stand out of place on a Pissed Jeans release. However the real treat is the closer Armageddon Song, a dark and twisted little nugget that sounds like Billy Bragg doing a Tom Waits impression, or maybe its the other way round.

Now I know this isn't going to everyones cuppa rosy by a very long chalk, but this is grass roots music at it's rawest. And if the true spirit of punk is that everyone can be a band, express themselves and make music then this is punk in its purest form.

for fans of... Rolo Tomassi, Melt Banana, Rottern Noise, Take A Sledgehammer To Your Nan....

This album can be downloaded from here... http://theswine.bandcamp.com/

Mutant Beatniks - 'Fountain' (self released) 4/5

 

 Now for something completely out of leftfield, and to be honest I'm not sure if you can call this music.I had better explain. Mutant Beatniks are a loose collective of producers and sound technicians working out of Bath in the UK. They take a radical approach to their work, using 'found sounds' - sometimes location recordings, other times sounds found on old tapes and videos salvaged from charity shops,  and snippets of radio and TV broadcasts; to create audio sculptures and sound scape paintings. 

Its hard to describe or compare this stuff with anything else, the closest I can think of is maybe the early sonic experimentation of White Noise, or those linking sections you find on some of the early Hawkwind albums. Haunting noises flow in and out of your hearing, cats cries transmute into the sound of sea gulls and into waves, bagpipe drones become inter weaving sonic strands that play tag around your hearing range, snippets of conversation become 'almost' drum beats.... Its very hard to describe, and has to be experienced to be understood.

The best way to experience this, or any other Mutant Beatniks material (there are a fair few albums about), is in a darkened room, with head phones and just trance out as the sound flows over you. It is a most enjoyable sonic experience I assure you. There are 15 tracks on offer here, but it would be wrong to single out any moment for praise above any other moment. Listening to this album is like walking around an art instillation, it must be enjoyed as a whole to gain the full impact of this remarkable work.

Is this music, is this sonic art? I don't know, but I do know it is a most interesting and rewarding sonic experience.

For Fans of... Avant-garde experimentation, and sonic art.

 'Fountain' can be downloaded free from here...

http://www.amazingtunes.com/users/mutantbeatniks/albums/907