The Dead C (Language Recordings)

So, guys, what have you been up to since leaving Siltbreeze? It seems quite a lot, and this felt like it was coming out of nowhere in 2000, though it's already twelve years old (time passing is scary!). This is the most experimental turn the Dead C have ever taken, completely forsaking the human voice in favour of ring modulator galore. This is entirely free improv, or at least it seems that way, and a fuck of a lot of it (disc 1 is 62 minutes and disc 2 is 68). In the first hour+, we start with a Tusk-like intro, 'Accelerate', though really this disc is gonna slow us down down down, as track two, 'Dec' indicates. The freedom is everywhere, and it masterfully builds on the decade and a half of rapport built up between the three of them. 'Pussyfooting' bring in a wonderfully ringing guitar, being played I guess with a mallet or some other percussive technique. The sound of the chords - the true spirit of rock and roll, right? - is warm and reverberating when it finally crashes in. It's a long journey through 'Speederbot', 33 minutes, and disc 2 is a welcome change of pace. It takes absolutely ages to listen to this and its hard to pay attention, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Though this isn't ambient music - nor is it deep-listening music - it works in some strange hybrid between-ground. There's slightly spazzy, falling apart chaotic rock dotting disc 2 ('Realisation con Slider' and 'Tuba is Funny (slight return)', a redux of the Tusk hit, I guess). 'One Night' comes midway through it all as a shockingly up-close alien aesthetic, a true gem that cheats from the ringing room sound of the rest of this disc (and their career in general). 'Fake Electronics' is another highlight, a placid, beautiful glow that fades into the distance, almost causing me to nod off until 'Tuba' jolts me awake. Listening to these discs takes all day and my mind drifts as much as the ringmod, but by the time I got to the other side I was glad for the journey. Even if I miss the 'classic' Dead C a bit, there's plenty to celebrate here.

Davis Redford Triad - 'Ewige Blumenkraft' (Holy Mountain)

I completely forgot that the Davis Redford Triad existed, and it's probably been a near-decade since I last pulled this CD off the rack. After blowing the dust off, I was transported back to the grimy underworld of early 00's space-drone, and particularly the guitar pyrotechnics of Steven Wray Lobdell.  Lobdell is a bearded weirdo who played in Faust on the tour where I saw them, and this was a band he (I think) led, which mined improvisatory space/psych with impressive dynamics. There's not a lot of rock here, at least not until we get deeply into the disc, and the title cut in particular works out some nasty atmospheres. The opening track could be from the third Labradford album, with it's delicate scrapings and slow echoes. It's a good intro, and 'Apocalypse Greeting Card' sets the dark-psych vibe over it's 9 minutes. Occasionally searing, maybe even broiled, but never too sharp.  It's followed by 'Plum Village', a tranquil bit of Kranky-records style guitar twiddling. Such placidity is nice and the album, which is very well recorded, feels cohesive through the slow fades and guitar explorations. Lobdell's playing (at least I think it's him -- the insert photo shows only three musicians and this is a 'triad', yet 5 are credited on the disc and it feels full full full) is like the underground Eddie Van Halen as it glows with a magical prominence. However, it's not just fretboard tapping but wiry, changing sound waves, weaving a quilt that occasionally explodes. I see these guys have put out a bunch of albums since this, so it's time to catch up.

Alva - 'Fair-Haired Guillotine' (Avant)

Source: Bought from Paul's in the late 90's for (I think) around $20, new (Japanese import)

Some records exist outside of any conceivable time-space continuum and Alva's two compact discs are as magnificent as a 7-11 Slurpee overturned on the saddle of a racehorse. Those weirdo Czech Tom and Jerry cartoons might have done better with Fair-Haired Guillotine's bouncier moments insteada whatever freejazz they had. But it's not all animated: there's some amateurish guitar strum, tin whistle and church organ that would creep out any impressionable tyke. These gals could be compared to any number of precedents: LAFMS, Futura records, Ralph label, Very Good Records -- but the comparison would be imperfect. Cause Alva's music is more baroque, more constructed, and recorded with more panâche than most others. For tracks as simply constructed as this - the instruments are clear, there are few mysteries as to what is generating the sounds - there is a world of strangeness in every second. They weren't the first band to paint a sky of looped mumbled vocals, renaissance violin, and melting honkytonk fumes but this is both hi-brow and no-brow at the same time. Obviously these ladies made quite an impression on me so maybe I've put them on some sort of pedestal, but the sounds can speak for themselves.