Wires Under Tension - Light Science

Trust that this is good. That it sounds like a train full of awesome live drums hit an elctronic dragon spewing samples as a violin careens in and out of the ensuing mayhem. So yea what you were going to say. Also as a side note why doesn't all electronic music use live drums? I mean why wouldn't you? Cant play to a click track brah?  Wires Under Tension do it exactly how it should always be done.

Light Science

Time Out to Touch Myself

Hey, so something our anonymous readers might not know about the folks writing on this blog is that we all happen to be musicians, and at one point we were all playing in the same half-assed math rock group. Or whatever it was. These days were all still creating in our own little ways, and since I was rummaging through some old tracks, I figured I'd share some things.

Chikai MIrai by Carved in Clouds

This was an early little beat-making experiment done in Garageband, before I moved on to working with Reason. Garageband has/had a surprisingly decent sound library.

Ain't Afraid by Carved in Clouds

This is song by a good friend of Ninko and myself that I recorded a couple summers ago. We had a lot of fine trying to bite some Television vibes, sweating in a tiny little room cutting vocal tracks with some cold beer. Fully recorded in under 4 hours.

Before The Verdict (Halfpint Remix) by Carved in Clouds

A remix I did following some guidelines from a Stones Throw contest that I never submitted to. It's a bit sludgy because I wanted it to sound like it was playing from a shitty tape cassette and you were drunk as fuck.

Dribble castle by Carved in Clouds

This is a track by my good friend by the title of Tudy Udis (2D OODIS). I found it in an e-mail saying it was for an animation about a Ninja, or a Thai girl, or a flower during sunset. His e-mails were always really cryptic, so it's for one of those things. He was a MAX/MSP dude.

Geophysical Nosebleed by Carved in Clouds

Was supposed to be an interlude for whatever wanted it.

The Advantage

Does nostalgia taint our view of everything? Is nintendo music only good because we grew up playing the games in our youth? By extension is The Advantage (a nintendo cover band) a good group if youve never heard these songs? Yes, No and No. There are many groups who do this same shtick HOWEVER it is in the song choice and musicianship that place them at the top of the heap. Instead of the same tired Zelda or Mario renditions you get Marble Madness, Batman, Festers Quest, Ducktails ect. Lesser known titles with kick-ass soundtracks. It is in this that you realize that they have a true love for the games they play. Also it helps when youve got Spencer Seim of Hella on drums, Carson Mcwhirter and Robby Moncrieff (two major players in the math scene.) they know there way around the guitar.



Underwear so Big! (tour only ep)
Elf-Titled 

Drumcorps - Grist (2006)

I can best describe this as a musical tightrope. At this level of cross polination between the two genre's of hardcore and electronic music there is very little that you can truly say both share. Aaron Spectre however does just this with  a forceful air of confidence and an ear for a great hardcore scream. If we are being honest though this is electronic music at its heart with the trimmings of a hardcore punk group guesting. Don't misunderstand me though there are portions that do rock boxes but the electronic elements added sometimes feel too tacked on. I highly suggest anyone who is a fan of either to check it out. Its good stuff and nothing stays for too long if you have a problem with a riff.

Grist (2006)

The Sea and Cake - Oui

If you want listen to the musical equivalent of french toast in bed on a snow day well here's your chance.  Made up of some extremely talented individuals this is by no means a pissing contest. The Sea and Cake are very chilled and more into drawing the mood of a piece out. Its only weakness for me would be that occasionally a song will outstay its welcome on a riff. This is some excellent night driving music and always makes me feel right at home. Featuring drum machine and live drums, crud loads of synths and Archer Prewitt's signature wispy vocals.  John McEntire (multi-instrumentalist of Tortoise) plays drums strictly here. And while they also share geographic location with Tortoise we are also treated to that amazing vibraphone we all know and love from them.   


Oui

Zazen Boys

Osh-kosh-b-gosh, it's the Zazen Boys!

One of the many projects of illustrious Japanese indie-rock hero, Mukai Shutoku (lower-left in photo), former leader of Number Girl, Zazen Boys play a rapidly mutating synthesis of rock, funk, club, sleaze, butchered blues whateverthefuck. Their initial releases were pretty much an extension of Mukai's earlier work, only this time sprinkled with bizarre spoken word "raps" focused on a slight perversion of a common Buddhist chant:

kurikaesareru shougyou mujyou / yomigaeru seiteki shoudou

My Japanese is too rusty to really remember what the fuck that means, so google it bro. Anyway, as time went on, the original rhythm section (who had also been in Number Girl) splintered off to do their own thing, so Mukai brought in two dudes who are all about looking stoic and grooving like two dudes programmed to beat you at whatever you think you can do best. Their music often has this illusion of "eh, whatever, I heard this before", but it's played with such intense synchronicity and general aggression that your guts seize up and you just go WHAT THE FUCK! (COLD BEAT)

Zazen Boys Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (Curated by metaghost) - Greatness

The Budos Band

If you were looking for something to have in the background during your top secret ninja training sessions, look no further. The Budos Band are instrumental afrobeat funk, down and dirty and sounding straight out of the 70's. Unlike Fela Kuti and many bands inspired by him, Budos Band keeps their ill shit simple and to the point. Not much dilly dallying here, no 18 minute epics. Just succinct 3-4 minute tracks with a nasty rhythm section, tight horns and style to spare.

The Budos Band - Black Venom by a pagan place

These guys have been around. They played on Amy Winehouses debut album, the one she put out before she went all Charlie Sheen and starting snorting that tiger blood; they back up various bands for the label they are on, Daptone, including the wonderful Sharon Jones; and they have a side project with some horns from other bands on Daptone and together call themselves the Menahan Street Band. All sick stuff.

Heres a nice relaxed Menahan Street Band track for ya.



Budos Band I

Faraquet - The View from This Tower

For such limited material Faraquet has left a lasting stamp on the state of math-rock even today. Active in the late 90's most of the members are now a part of the band Medications. "The View from This Tower" remains a staple in any math-heads go to albums. Certainly not a bullet proof release by any means its strength lies in the mix of excellent vocals with razor sharp rhythms. 

The View from This Tower

Dysrhythmia - Barrier and Passages

This album (and group) is straight sauce amazing. Another lovely group featuring Colin Marston on the Ginormous Warr guitar. Lets not forget to mention one of my favorite drummers as well Jeff Eber who lends his jazz influenced chops to the mix.  Alt-math rock doesn't get any better truly. Also strangely melodic as well. When this album came out it was joked that Dysrhythmia had written the album that Don Caballeo failed to write that year. Even though they did release an album that year....on the same label...ouch. Truly just so many great moments




Barriers and Passages

metaghostin' Vol. 3 - Always Late, Then Never

Always Late, Then Never - 57:40
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So this mix is supposed to serve as counterpoint to a previous mix I posted on my other blog (Sold at the Sign of a Gun) that was dedicated to idea of the terrible break-up. Here we have a tale of enduring love, whether that's a love of God, love of Adventure, or just your everyday love, one that might move away and then return on a rainy day. Hopefully it brings some better vibes than the last one.
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1. "Acknowledgment" - John Coltrane / A Love Supreme (1964)

Da-dum da-dum / da-dum da-dum

This record is responsible for really changing my perspective on Jazz music, the first time I really had my soul moved, instead of just passively boppin' along. And it's not just one master blowing his sax, that whole crew was buckwild, and even today I'd say McCoy Tyner defines what I consider to be the sound of "Jazz" chord, that sound of P4 triads.

2. "Hardwood Floors" - Facing New York / Get Hot (2008)

This record is one of these things that straddles so many intersections of styles without really committing to a tangible style, resulting in what is definitely a "grower", chock full of hooks and grooves and dope subtleties and random little one-liners. All of us here at Plenty of Swords are heavy into the whole steez of Eric Frederic, aka Wallpaper, so it should be no surprise to see us talk about FNY etc....

3. "P.Y.T." - Michael Jackson / Thriller ( 1982)

I know lawyers gonna jack this mix because of this track, so fuck yo face up and get it while you can.

4. "Warpaint" - Gavin Castleton / Home (2008)

I talked about dude's band Grüvis Malt in a previous mix, so I'mma try to keep this brief. Guy is so nasty that he can make crazy prog-pop records full of retarded zombie metaphors that are still ridiculous touching in a "yo, this is some true emotion I'm feeling but I thought I was a robot whaddupwitdat?" and then you hear his songs in a mall and it doesn't even confuse you even though it should.

5. "Wayfarer" - Kayo Dot / Choirs of the Eye (2003)

Beautiful wandering sounds.

6. "Everything Must Go" - Foreign Exchange / Authenticity (2010)

The title track of this album is what inspired the initial break-up mix, as I just couldn't figure out how to fit it into any other style of mix. Though this track isn't especially indicative of the content of that record, it functions similarly within the context of the album and this mix, as palate-cleanser, slight pop-number, and emotional reset button.

7. "Ariel" - Stateless / Matilda (2011)

I was telling acerola about how addicted I was to this recent release, so I figure I should sneak a track in somewhere. I first heard of the band because some work they did with the previously mentioned Gavin Castleton. At the time, I didn't really think much of them, as that very British bippity-bop electro-pop type stuff indebted to Portishead or whoever just isn't what I was feeling and still don't. But here they've beefed up their sound, embracing all this super low-end club-fuzz and glitchy crackle and other production tweakage, while keeping things packaged into very concise pop structures highlighted by great vocals. Apparently they worked with a Bjork-affiliated producer, and it definitely has an aura of Vespertine to it.

8. "Watching You Watching Me" - Kate Bush / Hounds of Love (1985)

Sometimes this song is unspeakably creepy.

9. "Creature Fear / Team" - Bon Iver / For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)

Mumble mumble mumble.

10. "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" - Jeff Buckley / Grace (1994)

One of the best love songs ever.

11. "Cicada Sing the Galaxy" - Natsumen (2005)

Macha - See It Another Way

90's indie rock that tends to get lumped into the slowcore camp with arguably the kings of the genre Bedhead due to a wonderful split between the two.  Athens Georgia's own Macha however hold an exciting "one up"  over bands of the time using a lot of Gamelan instruments to blanket their searing indie rock. Thats right a junk load of drums, nipple gongs, bamboo flutes and my personal favorite the dulcimer, give Macha a stand out style that I can not say I've ever heard done before.  While later albums would find Macha shifting the balance of their music (even incorporating dance elements) it still works. See it Another Way I believe to be an excellent start to an often over looked band.

See it Another Way

Jamie Lidell - Multiply

Furthering ideas that Lidell threw down in his previous group Super_Collider, Lidell is a talented man. Where Super_Collider was largely an electronic album with very masked soul influenced vocals, Multiply see's Lidell striking out on his own and embracing his Soul flirtations to a new and exciting level. . Lidell's voice itself is just perfect for this kind of thing. Its construction in places is very much an electronic album, but the meat of it  is a soul funk record and it works well. Albums that followed this first effort just come out sounding too forced and contrived. Listen up :)

Multiply

Pinback

As I posted Other Men a couple days ago I really didn't think it was fair to not have Rob Crow's most well known project Pinback. Along with Crow we also have Zach Smith of Three Mile Pilot fame. There is some amazingly catchy indie pop rock going on here. But this isn't your Belle and Sebastion hug a sad unicorn  type indie pop.  There's drum machines and awesome guitars which share there own unique quality that I just cant put my finger on. Not to mention that the vocals between Smith and Crow have that perfect trade off value that compliments the other oh so well. 

Blue Screen Life   

Summer in Abaddon
Autumn of the Seraphs

Either Summer in Abaddon or Autumn of the Seraphs are great places to start.

Ps Ninko, this business is almost scarily up your alley.

Ed Harrison - Neotokyo (OST)

 

A soundtrack for a first person shooter called Neotokyo based on the Unreal Tournament Engine.....wait....are you still awake? well you should be because this is some fancy flipping IDM with a Post-Rock sensibility. Incredibly well developed song structures. There is nothing that would lead you to believe this was anything else besides some sick nasty electronica. As far as I know this is Mr. Harrison's first and only release (I hope not though) This kind of jam isn't my normal tea and biscuits but its done so damn well you'd be a fool if you didn't take a dive.

Neotokyo CD1

Neotokyo CD2

mediafire

or 

Neotokyo  file factory

Wallpaper.

Acerola posted some Facing New York a while back, an awesome band that metaghost showed me as well. They write really cool rock/pop stuff with catchy choruses you only hear once after they grow out of the evolving melodies of their songs.

In 2009, the evil twin/ arch nemesis/ parallel universe persona of the singer of Facing New York, the hard drinking clubber Ricky Reed, released his first solo album. With drummer Arjun Singh, they called themselves Wallpaper and made DooDoo Face, the autotuned narration to a night of partying from a sentimental dance freak. The lyrics are silly as hell; too many to chose from, but "I gotta say I'm looking good/ I'd hit on myself if I could" from I Got Soul (I'm so wasted) came to mind first.

I was having a very hard time trying to decide which video of his to share on here; it was a toss up between T-Rex, or Getting Drip. One about going buckwild on the weekend after working 9-5 all week, and the other about prepartying in your kitchen. Metaghost put a vote in for T-Rex, and i cant disagree. Anyone getting down in an Ed-Sinclair-from-Dinosaurs mask deserves the screentime.



doo doo face

I also wanted to post this newer track, hopefully from an upcoming album. He has done away with the autotune and decided to just write one of the most fucking catchy-as-shit choruses of all time. Dude knows his fucking synths.

Ghosts and Vodka

If you want to talk about what the hell these current instrumental math bands are listening to you can more often than not draw a direct line to these gentlemen. Ghosts and Vodka is a mix mixture of two well known groups Joan of Arc and Cap'n Jazz. To say that this album is influential for the genre would be an understatement. Japanese band Toe in an interview once said they initially formed to play music like Ghosts and Vodka. Lets not even start on Victor Villareal's guitar style, we could be here all day. The music itself is incredibly dynamic and rhythmically complex but with a great sense of melody to back it up. Both Guitarists, Villareal and  Sam Zurick would go on to rejoin there Cap'n Jazz band mates for a new group called Owls. If you haven't your missing out.

Addicts and Drunks

Other Men - Wake Up Swimming

A post of a Rob Crow project thats not the usual Thingy, Pinback, Ladies, Goblin Cock or Heavy Vegetable? YEP (among a few). Crow is what some might call an underground indie superstar while also having a very low record of a failure. Speaking of Heavy Vegetable, Crow's first project, Other Men is a reforming of the original members 11 years after their last album release.  This adds another layer of expectation to the mix coming from such an excellent group. Other Men does differ as it shows more of a math rock group than one focused on quirky math pop. Grab this up and check it. This doesn't break the mold but its incredibly solid and a great addition to anyone's growing time shifting collection.


Other Men - Wake Up Swimming

Heavy Vegetable - The Amazing Undersea Adventures of Aqua Kitty and Friends  (BONUS!)

Toe

Since acerola posted Mouse on the Keys, which I have been digging immensely the last few days, I have wanted to put up some Toe, another instrumental band that Mouse reminded me of. Toe are just as technically tight as Mouse, and their drummer is outrageous. He comes up with such intricate, effortless beats; when you watch him it makes you feel like anyone could play drums.

This is a track off The Book About My Idle Plot On A Vague Anxiety

Ebu Gogo

When a band that you love so well and dear comes to a close, it can be a very traumatic experience, for both the audience and the band themselves. The relationships formed in a band are strong, and though people may come and go, some musical relationships are so tight that the bond will never end. When Gruvis Malt broke up, parts of the group moved far and wide, but initially, some of the main members were close together, and loved making music with each other. They had been a band for more than a decade, and grew up with the same influences that made them so unique. Three of the members of Gruvis decided to form a band, Ebu Gogo, and just use it to make the music that inspired them: mostly, the soundtracks to 80s videogames and movies.

It is instrumental mayhem; the new classical music. Bass, keys and drums, all tightly knit and bouncing off each other in great harmony. The musicians are at the top of their game, and the creativity in freedom is inspiring.

Its a bit hard to find good videos of theirs, but this should suffice:
It is a drum video someone made, playing along to their song H.U.G.S., off worlds



He does a pretty good job, too. And then theres this lego stop motion video that a kid made, set to The Sun of the Rancher of Neverland. He also does a great job.

Extra Life

I am having my balls absolutely busted re-listening to this Extra Life LP, Secular Works. It had been a while, but goddamn if "I don't see it that way" isn't absolutely devastating to the heart and soul.

Secular Works