From mlee Sent Fri, Jun 25th 1999, 05:12
From mlee Sent Fri, Jun 25th 1999, 05:12
aemic - beta (m.a.s.) ----- again aemic confuses the hell out of me with this new 10" picture disc. the DR design depicts a series of bar graphs on one side of the wax with various bits of track information including creation date, m/bytes, and sampling frequency in hz. but the m:s:ms track durations shown on the graphs don't correspond to the actual track times at my preferred rotation rates (33 rpm on the pie chart side, 45 rpm on the bar graph side). whatever. anyway, the record fails to disappoint; it offers a fine balance of synthetic and organic sounds and groovy drum programming sans the lame attempts at complexity which litter large portions of some recent releases like the ischemic folks compilation. indeed, the tracks on beta even include melody, but not to a fault (as some m.a.s. releases do). the melodies are enough to make the songs sound like *songs*, but are also sparse enough to place emphasis on the harmonics tones of the more rhythm-oriented elements. nothingface (eat raw) ----------- like the other eat raw record i own (lithops - didot), this thing is pressed on one of the fattest slabs of vinyl i've ever handled. the record asserts an immediate impression of quality and luckily the music lives up to it. expect everthing from mellow downtempo breaks to forward-thinking pop melodies to minimal ambient techno. perfect music for a summer by the pool. now if i could just get the people at the neighborhood pool to play this instead of commercial crap from shania fucking twain and that dork from new kids on the block... stars of the lid - avec laudenum (sub rosa) ---------------- though this isn't this-listy, i had to mention it because it's the best CD i've heard in a long time. it is definitely (to quote those responsible for it's subtle washes of environmental noise and immense waves of analog drone) "pure pass out material." as someone who once spent long hours with environmental sound sources and various instruments including an e-mu modular analog synthesizer and multiple 2- and 4-track tape decks, trying to create music like that on this CD, i think the stars of the lid deserve massive props. fortunately, on monday (6/28) i'll get the chance to offer them the same, as they are playing a show in my neck of the woods, at the granada in lawrence, kansas. i encourage all midwesterners to attend. i'll be the one wetting my pants over the opportunity to see such an amazing show. matt