Friday, January 25, 2008

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Hayden


I really cannot say enough great things about this LP. Wow comes to mind, not because it's a wow type record (it is...not his best, but damn good!) but cause Hayden is always so consistent. It's pretty rare that someone makes killer records EVERYTIME. "More Than Alive" could be the most heartbreaking songs Hayden has ever written, on the other hand "The Van Song" could be the catchiest. I'm not really sure why he isn't bigger in the USA. I've tried to turn people onto him who like sappy sad bastard music, but all those dashboard types just write him off. I guess I really should give Hayden more credit than that but I always think "man if they get into him they could get into Neil Young, Jackson C Frank, John Fahey, Jack Rose...ok ok I admit those last two are a stretch, but still! Anyways "In Field and Town" really does sound like Hayden trying to do his own After the Gold Rush, and he does it well. Lots of piano, although I must admit I do miss the more acoustic songs, but hey man it's Hayden, sit back think of sad shit and enjoy..you're in for a sad ass ride!

Times New Viking blah blah blah


My friend richie sent me a copy of Times New Viking 2 years ago. I was stoked on this band, couldn't find much on them. I don't know if at the time it was out on siltbreeze or not, but I tried to find anything on them, no go. A few months later I saw them open up for Clockcleaner (before that big tour, I believe it was just a random date) I was not impressed. I for some reason thought the songs were just flat out boring live, though I think this had more to do with the fact that everyone was pretty drunk.
Fast forward a few months, new LP on siltbreeze, was good but I wasn't impressed as the first record. So I hear this third record, not thinking much, and I'm pretty much floored. Yeah we all know pitchfork and the others love this record, but for the first time in a long time, the hype is pretty much true at least on this record. Who cares if it's lo fi or not, its good, and the one thing that is impressive is that its "lo-fi-ness" is not something for the hell of it, why pay 1000's of dollars when you can make an LP thats just as good as anything else. Sure we're gonna hear about this "sebadoh lo fi" come back, but who cares, believe or not, people have been making albums like this for years. Even long before the late 80s Lo fi movement or whatever the fuck it was. All those killed by death LPs sound like shit, and they still slay it today. Whatever, the TNV album is a killer and shit. Good for them, I wonder what stuff that keyboard player sold on ebay.

The first Death LP


Man, so I just got the first LP by Death a few weeks ago called "Scream Bloody Gore". Of course this LP is a classic to the good old metal head, but it was a first for me, and I was floored to say the least. "Death Metal" always seemed a bit lame to me, but if the first wave of death metal is just like this, count me in...well at least for the early stuff. The first song "Infernal Death" is so awesome. It's as if you are getting your ass kicked over and over again by dudes who just threw out their discharge records for Venom and the first few slayer records. The title track though is really where it's at, no bull shit here. What really makes this LP work is the middle of the road, not too slick but not too raw production. This is par for the course for most early death metal, but it works. While discovering this band is no big deal, in the context of all the low fi noise psych shit I've been listening to, this is refreshing to say the least, and reinforces the fact that black metal and the "cool to like" southern lord metal isnt the only kinds of metal out there.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Yoon Youn Sun




Yoon Youn Sun - Wing of Peace

So I just got back from Atlanta, my friend who owns a rad on-line record store called Friendly Fireman Records just turned me on to this. Total early 70s organs meets Nick Drake if he was Korean. Each song is a heart breaker totally. I dunno what the songs are called as they are all in Korean, but the riff from the first song hits you right in the gut. Vocals are also seem to sound as though they were recorded in the red, I chalk this up to maybe not having the studio slickness that others may have. Needless to say, the vocals are the best part of this record. It's as if shes channeling someone else, as cliche as that sounds. The bass is way high in the mix, which actually helps guide the songs pretty well. I know WORLD PSYCHEDELIA (WORLD'S LEADING TERRORIST STATE)the label that re-issued this in America is awesome and as we speak I am getting more Korean Folk/psych records from Friendly Fireman. I can't recommend this enough!!
I'll be playing this in 2 weeks on DNA in the DNA 6pm-8pm fridays on WMUC 88.1 FM Http://www.wmucradio.com

Sunday, January 20, 2008

DNA in the DNA records

We at DNA in the DNA are proud to announce our own record label, cleverly titled DNA in the DNA records. Our first release will be a new project by Neal Williams (The Slade Species, Possible Selves, Tin Tin and owner of Friendly Fireman Records). This is black metal like you've never heard before. Almost too black and/or too metal to even call it black metal. more info here

Next is WARMTH. Steev has been making a name for himself, doing splits with D. Yellow Swans, and a new 7" on Small Doses. This release promises to be a mix of his more "Shoegaze-y" type material with layers and layers of noise. First premiered on DNA in the DNA radio. More info here

Later a release from co-host Nicholas Szczepanik, this promises to suck. Just kidding! More info here