![]() ![]() ![]() Count Yr Blessings' final, untitled, cut veers into Beat Happening territory, hyper-cute vocals gliding bouyantly atop droning chords. The instrumentation on "Corporeality" reaches roaring, explosive crescendos as it reaches its wordless chorus, yet the song also features a jarringly hushed bridge, peppered with shimmering harmonics that mesh perfectly with the plod of twangy bass. The Portland quartet channels the primal, distortion-laden sound of early Sonic Youth: loose and noisy, but displaying a keen eye for texture. Sister Palace's upcoming effort, Count Yr Blessings, is a tumultuous clash between sinister guitaristry and fragmented bits of pop sentiment coated in the warmth of dulcet vocals and a heavy blanket of reverb. This is a very interesting release that has aged well, worth a look if you come across it. The zine component of the release is really cool, featuring blocky illustrations and tips on how to resolve conflict among your friends and to defend yourself in the event of an attack. Cypher in the Snow's offering is less accessible, a frenetic blast of buzzsaw guitar and sour saxophone (or trombone?). Sleater-Kinney's cut is solid, a throwback of sorts to the band's earliest material: raw and trebly that leans toward the pop side of punk. The record itself features the recently reformed trio Sleater-Kinney on the A-side and jazz-punk obscurity Cypher in the Snow on the flip, a project which I believe is named after a 70's educational film about bullying. ![]() Free To Fight is a split 7" single wrapped in a zine. I'm taking an Honors class on the Riot Grrrl movement this semester at college, so I thought it would only be appropriate to pick up this release while browsing the used vinyl section at Torn Light Records. Eucharist is an inviting, calm effort that is uncategorizable, but undeniably cozy. My favorite cuts include "Head", accented by the moans of bendy lead guitar notes, and "Effort", which opens with a synth solo that reminds me of the music that accompanies The Weather Channel. Eucharist offers up twangy RnB atmospherics in the vein of the most recent How To Dress Well album, layers of intertwining guitar riffs atop pulsating percussion. Though artistic progression may be a virtue, I admire Heavenly Beat's stalwart intention to carry on in the same direction, just doing it better each time. In this case the road traveled is well-paved and linear, a display of the remarkable consistency that has so defined P e ña's body of work from the uniformity of his album artwork to the palette of instrumental color he dips his brush into: trills of classical guitar, steel drum chimes and a vaporous hybrid of flamenco and smooth jazz vibes. It is a waypost from which loyal listeners can turn around and take in a complete view of what ground the solo project has covered stylistically. His third full-length release and his first effort outside the influence of the Captured Tracks record label, Eucharist makes for a milestone in John Pe ña's discography under the name Heavenly Beat. McMahon's vocals are powerful, half-shouted half-sung, especially so on his cover of This Mortal Coil's dream-pop classic "Song to the Siren". Songs like "I Know Myself" and "Green Eyes" slowly build upon minimal arrangements, opening with guitar and percussion, followed by layers upon layers of improvised accompaniment, from moaned backing vox to droning strings. It is powerfully succinct and filled with lush textures that often recall The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows". I feel that as a standalone EP release, it's McMahon's greatest output to date. The latest AD release, a 6-song EP, is composed of 5 alternate takes from previous albums and a cover track. Though recent efforts have nudged the project's sound towards accessibility, its adventurous spirit and penchant for improvisation is as present as ever. Frontman Damon McMahon borrows timbres normally associated with cozier acts like Fleet Foxes and Paul Simon, only to bend and distort them into spookier sonic territories. Ever since I first laid ears on Amen Dunes' sophomore LP, Through Donkey Jaw, I've found myself fascinated by the project's peculiar approach to folk music: skeletal in construction, yet its reverb-laden aura of mystery wafts through the air like ceremonial incense, filling each song with an eldritch breath of life. ![]()
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