More albums, the ever demanding album mountain grows some more, by the time one has been (semi) digested another five have landed and another pile of tabs opened and who needs to proof read and what’s words worth? And really there’s no time to go visit old things or to go off and things and for what any of this is worth, some more albums you might find it worth checking out if you have more time than we do…
Umlaut – Desolë (Overdrive Records) – How long to the state of where? The point of no return? How far to the point of know return? An Umlaut album just landed, right now they’re sounding like the more experimental side of Beach Boys, they’re sound rather breezy, they’re sounding rather Bungley. Umlaut is the project of former core-member of Mr.Bungle/Secret Chiefs 3 Clinton ‘Bar’ McKinnon. Founded in the first decade of this century. McKinnon moved to Australia at some point and the line up of the band (or project?) has morphed over the years. The current line up features Shane Lieber (An Easier Question), Angus Leslie (Sex on Toast) and another former member of Mr. Bungle – drummer Danny Heifitz. Says here that “Danny and Clinton got reconnected for the first time since the release of California in 2000″.
The Melbourne-based experimental collective are sounding rather fine, they sound at ease, no tarnished legacy here, there goes a rather nice squelchy bit, it is mostly breezy and upbeat, alive with clever detail, with slightly different colours, a need not to be too obvious about it – “Danny is a unique creature and one of the best drummers I could ever hope to have on my music,” states McKinnon. “He and I have both lived in Australia for probably too long but it was finally time to include him in the process. Danny will personalise his approach to the song and by the end of the process his intuition about how to approach each song is always a delightful revelation”
That’s almost a disco song that opens things, almost, not quite; Desolé takes us all over the place without ever getting messy about it, right now were in the rush of Happy Now? and back with the question of how long again, we’re not in Kansas now though and yes indeed, these songs are indeed punchy and (surprisingly?) accessible, “a calculated detour into higher-energy, hook-forward territory that still carries Umlaut’s trademark sense of chaos and mischief” and that bit in the middle of Cold Sore does keep catching our ears, no oranges for me, Cold Sore is a highlight on an album full of highlights, Every Time is too far behind it, have Umlaut got a touch of the ever excellent Cheer Accident’s progressive pop about them this time around?
“This set of songs was borne of an intention of doing some unapologetically earnest, higher-energy songs with which to bombard our sleepy audiences,” McKinnon continues. “I think it may surprise some fans with its no-holds-barred accessibility.” For Leslie, the album represented not just a musical shift but a personal education in studio craft. “For me, making Desolé was one of the more instructive things I’ve done in terms of production and getting sounds,” he shares. “Initially having Idge’s Soundpark studios in Northcote for a lot of the sessions, we were like kids in a candy store, with an array of organs, synthesizers, killer mics and outboard gear… Some songs like Grumpy Library were worked out meticulously, others like Vinnie were one basic track take only – we barely knew the song, which only adds to the energy.”
Hey, this album says they’re a band having fun, don’t go thinking throwaway though, this is crafted, clever, considered, there’s depth here, as an album it works wonderfully as one whole, one piece of work; “The album’s production weaves together material recorded across three different locations, lending Desolé a richly layered, shape-shifting feel—a controlled chaos honed by experience. Overdub sessions in multiple studios included everything from “chaotic percussion sessions in Danny’s studio” to “re-amplified giggling and screaming into distorted amps” at Leslie’s own. Final mixes were completed at his now-closed Clifton Hill space, with engineers Michael O’Connell and Nao Anzai helping balance the madness”.
Closing song – well closing besides the almost tacked on obtuseness of My Government is Never Wrong that is – STFU is the most straight forward they get, almost easy listening, McKinnon admits: “It’s a simple song about owning one’s mistakes or transgressions and how hollow even the most sincere apology can feel. The liminality and pain of learning from our mistakes. Atonement.”. This is a great album, accessible yes, very much for those who love things Mr.Bungle/Secret Chiefs 3, Other Rock you might say. A rather recommended release, their best release yet? Probably. (sw)
Ghostwoman – Welcome to the Civilized World – (Full Time Hobby) – “There is no reason for Ghostwoman’s fourth album to exist. Welcome to the Civilized World is born to a broken world; a corrupt inheritance – Evan Uschenko and Ille van Dessel are under no illusions about its futility” so opens the press release that confirms what we might have been thinking anyway. I see no reason why it shouldn’t exist though, most art is futile, I don’t see why that should stop any of us making it though do you? Ghostwoman are made up of the Belgium/Canada-based duo who’s names we just threw at you, they sounds like a whole load of things, like they’re wrapped up in all kinds of Jesus and Mary chains, like they’ve been messing with the ideas of the Dandy Jonestown Warhol experience, they sound like they like to wear dark glasses whatever the weather, they kind of sound a little mean, or at least their sound does, well at times, right now they’re kind of sounding a touch breezy. They do actually sound like they make music for no other reason than the thrill of it and they really don’t sound like they have anything to prove to you, me or anyone else (including themselves). I like their edge, I mean, they aren’t doing anything radically different, they sound like a cocktail of a lot of Jesus And Mary Chain flavoured bands with their slightly hypnotic spells of psych-grunge, their decaying Americana that comes under an oil stained baseball cap and that drive they have, they sound kind of cool actually. I like their retro artwork.
Steiger – Mowglowski’s First Take – Now this sounds clever in a breezy kind of way, you might even say delightfully quirky? At times high art, at times, almost down the (east End) pub with those experimental jazzy twists and turns that are indeed “blurring the boundaries between the organic and the electronic”. They’re a three piece instrumental outfit from Ghent, Belgium, they have been covered on these pages numerous times, this sounds slightly different but then they do always (thankfully) seem to need to evolve and paint in different ways; “Steiger seek to explore unfamiliar territory with a strong emphasis on sound exploration and pinpoint the organic and timeless music of Latin Playboys, the punkiness and playfulness of Deerhoof, the lyricism of Ruben Gonzalez, the mystical Jon Hassell, and Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru as influences”. Mowglowski’s First Take does kind of sound like a next step, or maybe a sidestep? Are they all sidesteps? Skips, dances in odd times? Whatever it is Steiger’s unpredictable evolution is well worth your effort as they playful and deeply committed to something deeper, “It became quite clear during the process of creating ‘Mowglowski’s First Take’ that the instrumentation would be mainly acoustic, but Steiger wanted to open up the acoustic spectrums by merging the sounds of the piano with other instruments. Some of the sounds are synthesised, others are sample based (own recordings of pianist Vandecaveye-Pinoy put into a sampler) to make it more personal and sound specific”. Mostly this is just a very enjoyable highly listenable left-field mostly piano flavoured experimental instrumental album…
The album is released on 17th October, here’s the first single (which does sound a little less piano flavoured than the rest of it)
Previously…
Why Patterns – Screamers (Human Worth) – Why Patterns aren’t an easy listen, I don’t imagine they want to be, this is what you wanted! I don’t know what you want, I don’t know what you want, this is what you want, this is hard boiled, abrasive, aggressive, these people are head peckers, they’re the kind of people you cross the road to avoid, why do I cross the road? Why do I cross road? Because I’m a fugging chicken! We’re listening to the blistering new album Screamers from Why Patterns and yes it is an an ear assaulting noise about something or other. What is ait about? We could go around and around and around and around (and around) trying to work that one out? Something to do with buffoons and barrel organs or the aftermath of a bullfight or the eye of the storm or just an argument in a phone box? This is seriously abrasive, this is the art of noise, it is relentless, they say that Screamers is “an abstraction of the approaches found in hardcore punk, grindcore and powerviolence, fused with the loud and abrasive qualities of noise rock, industrial, and the avant-garde” and yes, we can more than go with all that. All fuzzed out and barbed, rusty around the edges, you don’t want to cut yourself on it, you might not heal.
That bit there is sounding like it was going to go off and things (we might have said that before?) and I tend to repeat myself when under stress (I might have said that before as well), this is serious alternative noise fuelled stream of consciousness lyricism, stream of consciousness everything, non-linear song structures and yes it is played in constant freefall and this is no time for a refined review, this is urgent, we’re late already, this came out earlier this month, came out through UK DIY label Human Worth, “a leading light for championing leftfield heavy and noisy forward thinking acts” so they say. Hide away, stay away, no, don’t stay away, get on this, this vital and I don’t know what you want, I don’t know what you want, what you want, I don’t know what you want… Oh yes, get on this ride now, don’t be crossing any roads with the chickens, head straight towards this one, meet it head on, fight with it, don’t let it beat you, you seriously need this one…
THE ORGAN 
One response to “ORGAN ALBUMS: More albums – New Umlaut, this time with two Mr Bungles, meanwhile, there is no reason for Ghostwoman’s fourth album to exist while Steiger seek to explore unfamiliar territory and Why Patterns aren’t an easy listen, I don’t imagine they want to be, this is what you wanted…”
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