Frownland

Experimental big band never tasted so good. This album clearly comes from a place of next-level compositional skills that extend the avant-prog dialogue while breathing new life into. Frank Zappa would cry tears partially of joy and partially of jealousy that he's too cheesy to make stuff like this, the dead ****. This album is exciting, surprising, well-oiled, and gripping. So many artists take the long-form approach to free jazz with a big band/orchestra and just come off as dull classical musicians who only know how to convey a handful of jazz techniques, but this record goes above and beyond. It's got the sexy, you should hit on it.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

Frownland

Really interesting amalgamation of gospel, post-punk, noise rock, industrial, post-rock, and a whole bunch of other **** that works far better blended together than you'd expect. Definitely a grower since I dismissed it after a half listen when I initially heard about it (I think from Goofle posting on here) and it grew a lot on me when I came back around to it while searching for new albums. Some tracks are more energetic, others are more brooding, but what really brings me back to it is that it doesn't sound like anything that I've heard before. There are a couple of tracks and moments that drag on a bit but I'll be interested in hearing where these guys end up next. To me, this record shows that they're both capable of and willing to challenge themselves and that's a sign of greatness imo.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

Goofle

Really good album. Liked their debut a whole lot.

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Frownland

Well how about this. Ken Vandermark, Christof Kurzmann, Jasper Stadhouders, and Tim Daisy. I only knew about Vandermark going into this but if I know anything about Christofs, Christophes, Krzystofs, etc., he should be pretty dope and he actually does bring a great element to the record with his electronics and live looping. Three long form nu euro free jazz jams. I only just heard this tonight but this is the honourable mentions section bitch that's how it goes.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

Frownland

Sure looks like a pleasant record right? Well don't be fooled my friends, this album rains down like a ton of bricks. Musically, they're brutal, noise driven, sludgy, droney, screechy, pounding, distorted, and noisy. Sort of like a cross between Man is the Bastard, Gnaw Their Tongues, Thantifaxath, Cryptopsy, Indian, and like...Stallagh or something. While this album had immediate appeal to me, it also took a few listens for this one to really grow on me.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

Frownland

Don't forget to put those votes in on what my number one pick will be. My top 20 is fixed and we're only 7 away. Voting goes until the top 20 is announced. Winner gets a real prize of monetary value. Doooooit.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

Frownland

Wire bassist Edvard Graham Lewis, Spiritualized/late-stage Coil member Thighpaulsandra, Wire guitarist Matthew Simms, and Tomaga drummer Valentina Magaletti come together to create UUUU. In a perfect world, that's all that I would need to tell you before you went and listened to it before agreeing with me about how great this record is--I ejaculated just writing it--but for the sake of the ignorant I'll go in a little bit deeper. This album has a lot of legs all kicking for attention, but the key component of it is industrial improvisation. The percussion is driving, hypnotic, and gripping, the electronics waste no time in serving as the grounding that swallows the rest of the musicians, the guitar finding new ways to play at top volume, and driven bass give us a krauty, electronic, long form, industrial, experimental thing. It's cool. Listen.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

Frownland

Absolutely phenomenal twisted death metal. The album is divided into several tracks but it's definitely best taken in as a whole. It starts off with some modern classical strings before diving into hellish dissonance. The record is full of incredibly technical and precise playing and composition that just blows me away. There will be times when I think a part is dragging when they'll turn it on its head into some other dense and polyrhythmic concepts. There are some slower, atmospheric moments toward the end that climax before dissolving into a droning resolution. It's one of those albums that I find especially rewarding because every time I listen to it closely it still surprises me. Stylistically this is in the vein of Gorguts with the general twisted DM approach, Ulcerate with the intricate and atmospheric guitars, and Portal with their very deliberate, enveloping, chaos. The bassist comes in with some spoken word in the beginning that's a bit corny, but that's the only blemish on this maniacal masterpiece. I was a massive fan of their earlier release Mind Cemeteries, but this is on another level. Hopefully they continue that trajectory on their next release. Beautiful one-sided vinyl release for those interested in that.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

Frownland

What a monster of a record. Modern classical, doom, electronics, explosive percussion...this is truly avant-garde metal, a term that too often is applied to Mr. Bungle or Zorn worship (or mimicry). The album kicks off with "The Crow Speaks." A hypnotic, rhythmically minimalist but melodically rich double bass solo introduces the track as it gets increasingly interrupted by electronics before descending into wild death tribalistic doom. Then it evolves into a quasi-improvisational call and response between the guitar and bass that's almost cinematic, all the while pocketed by what sounds like electronically processed percussion in addition to the drums. This track goes to so many places without giving an idea too much or too little time to evolve and the transitions between wildly different parts are far from awkward. It's chaotic yet methodical.

"A Wandering Fire" opens with cellos and interesting percussion with lonely drones and shrieks before falling into this weird heavy repetitive chamber music jazz fusion thing with some more prominent piano that's just ****ing wild.

"Godhead" dwells in a more ominous dirge approach with plodding piano and bowed bass with slowly pulsing drums and spoken word. A lead guitar comes into the picture with playing somewhat reminiscent of the solo from the end of This Heat's Fall of Saigon before the group explodes into a mindmelt of noisy, drony soundscape. The drumming on this track is just phenomenal.

Closing track "The Marrow" starts off in a more directly chamber music fashion, with some indescribably beautiful drones and ambience with minimalist, almost third-stream piano. The strings grow more weepy before the track closes with the final words "I would be near; I shut my eyes to see;
I bleed my bones, their marrow to bestow; Upon that god who knows what I would know." A gorgeous track and a highlight of the record, but the whole thing is strong from start to finish.

Listening to this record again for my review has me thinking that this should have been ranked higher. This might be a more appropriate candidate for the "Trout Mask Replica of metal" than Obscura by Gorguts. By that I don't just mean how much I love it, but how innovative it is in its deconstruction and how rewarding it is upon repeated listens. This is really a masterpiece.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

OccultHawk

Or two months and running...

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