The Slaughterhouse 5 - Alban B. Clay (2013)

Alban B. Clay (Name Dat Price)

Acey brought this group to my (and everyone else's) attention last month upon the release of their second single, Fish Pt. 2–3 (Actual Fish), which I have been abso-fucking-lutely addicted to, along with their previous single, Light Bulbs (A K.M.R.J. Cover). I have no real reference for how to describe this music, though Acey's genre-classification of "math-pop" is appropriate, and it's not like they're doing something literally indescribable or unique. But the execution is what makes this album special in a deliriously unhinged way: from its conceit as a concept album about an artist and his pretensions, to the way everything is simultaneously dirty with distortion and yet sparkly clean in harmonic precision. 

The vox (as identified in the previous post) are probably the element most enticing, with their dramatic ambitions, layered harmonies, male/female duets, and genuinely surreal lyrics about who-the-fuck-knows. But while the instrumentation is never hitting those technical highs that most folks expect from the math-tag, the songwriting and performance are top-notch through and through, with an abundance of style.

Highly recommended, especially for fans of Mister Metaphor, Hawks & Oxen, Mew, and the Olivia Tremor Control.

Jo Jo and the Scooters

So, i have big personal news for all you Swordsers: i finally have a working laptop capable of letting me produce intense, gigantic audio recordings. I am very excited. Ive been talking to Metaghost about how liberating and exciting it is to have a high-class machine ready for me to use its audio functions to their potential, and i have a lot of ideas that have been laying dormant since about six months ago, when my previous computer stopped working properly.

One of these ideas was borne from a fake band name my father referenced a while back; i was home, listening to some random music when my dad peeped his head in to ask what i was listening to: "who is this? Jo Jo and the Scooters?". He makes up names like this all the time; his standby fake band name is Mickey and the Finns, but he often gets creative with it. Jo Jo and the Scooters stuck with me for some reason; i was listening to a lot of Mister Metaphor (for the first time), and had also rediscovered my love for Olivia Tremor Control. At the same time, i was deeply involved in electro-pop, listening to loads of Hot Chip, Starfucker and Miike Snow; expanding my technical production ideas by absorbing myself in electronic-heavy dance/pop outfits.

Anyways, this mostly goes out to Acey and Franklin (as metaghost already is in on this): Here we go gentlemen. When my father first uttered the words Jo Jo and the Scooters, i thought of classic do-wop pop music, only updated to modern standards. I expanded this initial idea to becoming a mix of Olivia Tremor Controls vocal stylings, Mister Metaphors polyrhythmic math/pop skills, and added electronica as bonus points. Im ready to go. Things to come. This is a warning.

metaghostin' Vol. IX - If I saw double once, then again.

If I saw double once, then again. - 43' 26"
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Side A - What's cooler:

1. The Microphones - "Here With Summer" / Don't Wake Me Up (1999)
2. The Weeknd - "The Birds (Pt. 1)" / Thursday (2011)
3. RX Bandits - "White Lies" / Mandala (2009)
4. Penpal - "Bed Bugs" / Postscript EP (2011)
5. Genesis - "Chamber of 32 Doors" / The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

 Side B - An Eclipse or a Syzygy?

1. TV on the Radio - "Playhouses" / Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)
2. Stateless - "Visions" / Matilda (2011)
3. Gavin Castleton - "Swim Good (Frank Ocean x Portishead Mashup/Cover)
4. Mister Metaphor - "The Sunset Song" / This Is How the Day Goes (20XX)
5. noumenon - "Pimpin' Zenith (Pt. 2)" / Split 7" with Rooftops (2009)

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Don't you guys hate when albums are shoddily sequenced? I know people mostly just be listening to their tunes with complete disregard to context, but goddamn do I get salty when I put on a record and things just be arbitrarily jammed together like a motherfucker ain't never eaten a PB & J sandwich. I used to buy Mars Volta LPs, and the first thing I would do is rip it and re-sequence, because those dudes are basically retarded and put their ballads next to their helicopter sound effects.