Variety Is The Spice
Different Noises 53
To some degree what goes into these shows is down to what is sent my way by the lovely people that promote music. The random nature of those submissions allows me to meet the Different Noises agenda and demonstrate the variety of music that is out there. If you read the mainstream press then you would think that music is in the hands of Swift, Sheeran and their ilk, when in reality there is a vast amount of excellent music, far better than the aforementioned produce I reckon. So, here’s a selection that demonstrates variety, mostly new, some re-released, and my own particular obsessions. As Ann-Marie sings in The Speed of Sound tracks “Can You Hear The Unheard Music” - yes you can on this show!
AUDIO
PLAYLIST
Danny Short "On The Horizon (Single Mix)" from On The Horizon/Mountains For Miles
The Speed of Sound "Underground" from A Cornucopia : Victory
Endless Valley "Opportunistic" from Kakashir
Hungrytown "Little Bird" from Little Bird
Ari Joshua, Joe Russo, Marco Benevento "O Mio My Dimitri" from Tagine
Dave Graney Show "They Wanted To Be Players" from The Dave Graney Show
The Meringues "Shambles" from Pavlovas Dog
Mariam The Believer "Home" from Breathing Techniques
Dubmatix "El Loco Dub" from El Loco Dub
Robin Guthrie "Atlas" from Atlas EP
Cloud Tangle "Godlike Masquerade" from Dreaming Again
Anubis "One Last Thing" from The Unforgiveable
Jeff Gburek "Eyeless 3" from Eyeless - Microtonal Mandolin
Mykal Rose, Subatomic Sound System & Hollie Cook "Put Down The Gun (Dub)" from Rockin' Like Champion
Sun Atoms "And The Lion Saw The UFO" from Take This Love
Hawkwind "Master Of The Universe" from In Search of Space
Fire Engines "Coca Cola Cowboy" from Chrome Dreams
Mod Con "Is Your Heart A Joke?" from Modern Condition
Mod Con "Bad Time At The Hilton" from Modern Convenience
The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol & Dead Sea Apes "Homebase Phase" from Eine Nacht
The Dream Syndicate "Tell Me When It's Over" from The Days of Wine and Roses
Danny Short "Mountains For Miles" from On The Horizon/Mountains For Miles
Absorb "Smog" from Smog
SHOW NOTES
Danny Short - a new single from Danny which is a companion to the recently released album. Back to the album next week on the show.
The Speed of Sound - new single 'Underground', a taster from the album 'A Cornucopia: Victory', the second disc in their trilogy 'A Cornucopia: Minerva, Victory, Bounty'. This set of releases marks 35 years of the band's existence. California's Big Stir Records is releasing this as a three-album deluxe edition on vinyl and CD. The 'Victory' album itself includes 14 wide-ranging pieces of unheard and highly contagious fresh and unexpectedly shape-shifting grooves.
Endless Valley - Meanjin/Brisbane (Australia) global progressive psych legends with Kaskashirvtheir sophomore album showing a laser sharp focus honed from years of on-stage jams and relentless creation. The result is a dark yet groovy, fierce yet hopeful and an overall exhilarating and enveloping album experience. The album’s name, meaning “eternal” in Nayivadan (the band’s fictitious language and world) is a captivating fusion of psychedelic rock and world music that takes listeners on a journey through the ancient mystical landscapes of Nayivada. The album’s driving rhythm and powerful vocals are enhanced by a rich tapestry of instruments, including exotic percussion, hypnotic guitar riffs and soaring melodies that evoke a sense of adventure and exploration. A mesmerizing sonic experience that showcases the band's unique sound and creative vision that fans of global music and psychedelic rock alike are sure to be drawn into. For fans of: WITCH, Goat, Kikagaku Moyo, Dead Can Dance, Golden Dawn Arkestra
Hungrytown - new single from the Vermont indie-folk duo – the latest from their acclaimed album CIRCUS FOR SALE . “Little Bird” is a retro-radio-ready folk rocker and already one of the most-played album tracks on indie radio worldwide…
Ari Joshua, Joe Russo, Marco Benevento - Music Factory Records Presents “Tagine” featuring Marco Benevento, & Joe Russo. Ari Joshua shares another one from the vault, recorded in the 2000’s at Wombat Recording. "Tagine" is Ari Joshua's latest release from his vault. Leading this trio on guitar, Ais joined by Joe Russo on drums, and Marco Benevento on organ on this first officially released track from a session that took place at Wombat Studios in the early 2000’s. "Tagine" dives into a dark, jazzy vibe influenced by psychedelic jazz legends like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Medeski Martin & Wood. Perfect for fans of jazz and jam bands, "Tagine" captures this trio's raw talent and chemistry in their early 20s. It's a must-listen that shows off their early explorations, like finding an old reel to reel recording with no label, this tracks shows off the virtuosity and creativity these players had even at a young age. Dive into this timeless work of art. Named after a Moroccan Restaurant that used to host a weekly jam session lead by Marco that Ari and Joe both would regularly frequent. In the basement of this midtown middle eastern restaurant there was magic in the air. In their 20’s this recording is a rare audio document from the days when The Duo was getting started at Knitting Factory and Ari was just out of college.
Dave Graney Show - of this one Dave says “This is a song that tries to take an anthropological view of rock musicians and rock scenes, a detached observer describing a nightclub scene like say, David Attenborough describes a family of apes in the jungle. . . . "the singer wore a torn t shirt. . . . "
The Meringues - Kingston, Ontario’s post-punk powerhouse with a track that is the advance single from their eagerly anticipated sophomore album, Pavlova's Dog, which will be available on September 16th, 2024. At the heart of The Meringues are Amanda Pants and Ted Evans, whose dynamic vocal interplay and onstage antics blur the line between playful banter and intense rivalry. Their unique chemistry is supported by the solid rhythm section of Jackson Baird on bass and Alastair Morrison on drums, creating a thrilling atmosphere that threatens to spiral out of control while maintaining a clear artistic vision. Lead single "Shambles" is new wave banger that dives deep into the chaos of a relationship or conversation in crisis, where communication has broken down entirely. The song vividly portrays the escalation of misunderstandings, with both parties misinterpreting each other's words and dredging up past grievances, ultimately spiraling into a state of exhaustion and unresolved anger. The driving backbeat and power pop melodies take the listener on a journey through genres such as Punk, Post-Punk, Alt-Rock, and New-Wave, creating a dynamic and eclectic sound that is both nostalgic and refreshingly modern. The Meringues' sound is sure to resonate with fans of Pixies, Weezer, The Strokes, The Beaches, Amyl and the Sniffers, July Talk, Wet Leg, Wolf Alice, and PUP. The recording of "Shambles" took place at multiple locations, including Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Todd's Place in Harrowsmith, and Fake Cake Lodge in Kingston. The drum recording was engineered by Camille Comeau, with additional recording by Ted Evans. Mixing was handled by Ian Docherty, while the mastering was expertly completed by Elisa Kady Pangsaeng at CPS Mastering in Vancouver, BC. The result is a polished yet raw track that captures the intensity and emotional turmoil The Meringues are known for.
Mariam The Believer - After a triumphant return from a nearly four-year hiatus with singles ‘Tiny Animals’ and ‘Home’, Swedish singer-songwriter Mariam The Believer is back with her third album Breathing Techniques, set to release on 4th October 2024, released via Repeat Until Death. Breathing Techniques is an ode to Mariam’s respect and devotion to air, breath, and space and conveys a feeling of openness to the world and to oneself. Her haunting and honest vocals guide intimate yet compelling musical arrangements, featuring tender harps, delicate strings, playful synthesisers, flowing pianos, and the ever-present drums that act as the beating heart throughout the album. The sound is close yet atmospheric, a musical landscape that opens up as the music evolves through subtle progressions, repetitions and sometimes seemingly sporadic arrangements. A setting reminiscent of an updated classical chamber orchestra, fronted by Wallentin’s singing, breathing life into the wonder of vulnerability and care that is the littlest of everyday life.
Dubmatix - A blend of Afro-Funk, Reggae/Dub and Latin - El Loco Dub is an uplifting jam to get the feet moving.
Robin Guthrie - the celebrated Scottish songsmith presents his new 'Atlas' EP with four newly-recorded instrumentals that grace the listener with his ever-present signature sound and atmosphere. Nearly 45 years since founding legendary dreampop band COCTEAU TWINS, Guthrie has been its most prolific member, offering a steady and stellar stream of material with a production style and signature guitar sounds that have shaped multiple genres and generations. This is Guthrie's first significant release since 2021's 'Pearldiving', which marked the end of a nine-year hiatus, returning for an intensive year of releases that also included three EPs - 'Mockingbird Love', 'Riviera' and 'Springtime'. Guthrie shares, "I got travelling again after the pandemic and that’s always a source of inspiration for me. I absorb a lot and get most creative when I have travelled. As for the title 'Atlas', I found an old radio and was struck with how many of the places on the dial no longer existed. I was attracted to the romantic notion that these places were very far away, not only in distance but now in time as well. The world seems a smaller and more familiar place nowadays".
Cloud Tangle - ‘Godlike Masquerade’ is the first single to be released from Cloud Tangle’s third album Dreaming Again, due for release later in the year. The new single is one of the earlier writings that will appear on Dreaming Again, showing a more guitar-centric arrangement, more rhythmic focus and dense instrumentation. A throwback to her previous work, the single also gives us a glimpse into the album’s development in sound. The track fades in with the “dreaming theme” and faint vocal echoes from the previous track bring a sense of unity when listened to within the album’s chronology. Lyrics paint a picture of a dreamscape and abstracted reality; the sacrifice of an absent mind to ride the train of imagination. Surrealism and Dreams are common themes of the album that this single gives us a glimpse into. The two cyclical guitar riffs that interweave are a trademark feature of the project since the debut works nearly a decade ago now. Influences span from the guitar work of David Lynch, folk music, Radiohead and from playing the drums to a variety of genres.
Anubis - Celebrate Anubis' 20th anniversary with their new concept album 'The Unforgivable'. The Australian Cinematic Progressive Rock band has released the first single 'Back' and is now taking pre-orders for their studio album, available starting September 6, 2024. The Unforgivable’ finds the band revisiting the narrative-based concept album format that characterised the seminal ‘230503’ (2009) and ‘A Tower of Silence’ (2011). Says keyboardist David Eaton ‘during the COVID lockdowns, Rob and I were left marooned with about two hours of multitracked jams. During that period, we were busy reworking the first two Anubis records for remixing, watching way too many Netflix documentaries about weird religious cults and had all of these great fragments of music which we tentatively slotted together into this long 45 minute piece. It just seemed logical that all of these things would line up - and when we got together after lockdown, we showed the band what we’d done and everyone got behind the idea immediately.’ The album tells the story of a young man’s falling into - and escape from a religious cult in the American midwest known as The Legion of Angels. A dark, moody story that is told over the course of the two sides of vinyl - with one epic length piece split into ten parts. ‘It calls to mind the 230503 album, especially, to me. Lots of atmosphere, and a very clear, linear story. But it manages to tell this story in almost half the time! Like every album we’ve done, it represents a progression in our ability to make records and is rather a reaction to our last album which was much more accessible. This one really needs the time to reveal itself - but is all the more rewarding for it.’
Jeff Gburek - another exploratory recording from Polish-based guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, sound designer, and field recordist. Eyeless: Microtonal Mandolin, is a totally improvised set of compositions played on the mandolin and recorded live at Galeria Baszta, Zbąszyn, Poland. These ‘eyeless’ compositions are wonderful vignettes of nuanced scenes and emotions...seemingly drawing on Asian and Middle Eastern forms; or maybe not..they are open to interpretation and each track takes on a life of its own but they are all interconnected by the same European avant-garde sensibility.
Mykal Rose, Subatomic Sound System & Hollie Cook - Reggae superstar Mykal Rose, original voice of the Grammy Award-winning Jamaican group Black Uhuru, steps into the future with Lee "Scratch" Perry's former band, NYC dub specialists Subatomic Sound System and London lover's rock queen Hollie Cook on the single "Put Down The Gun" which serves as the second single from the trio's collaborative full-length album, Rockin’ Like a Champion a joint venture between Dubshot Records and Controlled Substance Sound Labs.
Sun Atoms - Portland band who present the 2-track 'Take This Love' single with fantastic B-side 'And The Lion Saw The UFO' (out via Little Cloud Records digitally and on 7-inch vinyl). A psychedelic odyssey to a realm of musical enchantment, the accompanying sci-fi video presents a warped retro-future reality, filmed at Oregon's famed Airplane Home. Sun Atoms is Peter G. Holmström (THE DANDY WARHOLS, PETE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT), Jsun Atoms (DAYDREAM MACHINE, THE UPSIDEDOWN), June Kang, Mars de Ponte (LOVEBOMB GO), Eric Rubalcava and Derek Spencer Longoria-Gomez (HI HAZEL).
Hawkwind - Recorded in 1971, the album was Hawkwind’s first true masterwork and saw them fully realise their unique brand of Space Rock and was greeted with acclaim upon its release in October 1971 and was the band’s first Top 20 hit. The record was subsequently and deservedly hailed as one of the Greatest Hundred British Rock albums of all time by Classic Rock magazine. This new limited edition deluxe box set from Cherry Red comprises 2CDs of a new remaster of the original album, along with new stereo mixes by Stephen W Tayler, including the session out-takes of ‘Hog Farm’ and ‘Kiss of the Velvet Whip’. Also included are new mixes of the legendary singles ‘Silver Machine’ and ‘Seven by Seven’. The set also includes a region free Blu ray disc which features Stephen W Tayler’s new 5.1 Surround Sound mixes of the album and bonus tracks including ‘Silver Machine’ and ‘Seven by Seven’.
Fire Engines - another Cherry Red compilation featuring all Fire Engines’ Codex Communications/Pop: Aural recorded output plus the two 1981 John Peel BBC Sessions, the latter featuring tracks unavailable elsewhere, and essential live recordings including Fire Engines’ debut live performance at Leith Community Centre, the band’s memorable appearance at 1980’s ‘Why Does The Pope Not Come To Glasgow?’ Edinburgh Fringe and one of the band’s legendary 30-minute sets at Edinburgh Valentino’s captured during the summer of 1981. There is also a track from the 2004 ‘reformed’ Fire Engines; ‘influencers’ now covering the ‘influenced’ with 2004 Mercury Prize Winners Franz Ferdinand’s ‘Jacqueline’.
Mod Con - following on from last weeks look at TFS members work here is more from one of Erica Dunn’s other projects - a pair of tracks from two of their releases.
The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol & Dead Sea Apes - On September 13th, 2023 on the eve of Ottawa Psychfest III, the 9 members of the two groups gathered together in a small space and played together. The audio was captured by three Zoom recorders placed semi-strategically in the room. The ensemble played for over two hours here is an excerpt from the proceedings
The Dream Syndicate - with a Steve Wynn solo album and book due soon it seemed timely to dig out this classic. He is touring UK and USA in September/October.
Absorb - a Hamilton, Ontario-based death/doom outfit who released their Smog EP on July 26th via Hypaethral Records. Formed in 2013, the band is Jeff Luckel (lead guitar), David Eckmeier (rhythm guitar), Jason Luckel (bass), and Aaron Barthe (drums). They set out to cultivate a sound that was slow, dissonant, and heavy. After cycling through a number of vocalists, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place with the addition of vocalist Erik Thorkildsen in 2022. Since then they have found their true sound, a perfect fit with Thorkildsen’s dominating vocal delivery. Following the band’s 2023’s Rot EP, this new releasemarks a profound evolution for the band, embracing denser, more atmospheric compositions, that add new layers of depth to their monolithically heavy sound. The music is a full-body visceral endeavour, drawing from influences such as the bands Primitive Man, Thou, and Cough. “This is our second release with ABSORB‘s current lineup,” elaborates Thorkildsen. “Smog envelops the listener in a dense, thunderous, buzzsaw fuzz-laced journey that rings in your head like tinnitus long after the last note. Combining soul-crushing riffs and intense, varied vocal delivery, it delivers a cathartic punch, leaving you feeling raw and contemplative with its weight."
