Commercial Radio's Rotting Zombie Wants Your Brains

I haven't listened to commercial radio in a long time. I gave the stuff up around the time I had the CD player put in the car. But there are some things I miss about tuning into various radio stations while driving, wandering around the house, and sitting in front of the computer.

Before the epidemic of the three-chord/power chord, idiot pop-punk virus, there used to be great bands on the radio. Tuning in brought great new bands that you hadn't heard before, induced you to pursue their music, turned you into a fan. Remember back when Soundgarden was in frequent rotation? When was the last time you heard Soundgarden coming from a commercial radio station? Hell, they play Temple of the Dog more than they do Soundgarden, or even Pearl Jam, these days. I, like many of you in the pre-internet, pre-iPod-glued-to-your-skull generation, first encountered many of my favorites via commercial radio. I remember staying up late one night with my headphones on and hearing this one amazing song that, to my shock and mystery, used piano as the lead instrument. Past my bedtime will forever be associated with "Spark," the first song by Tori Amos I ever heard.

Aside from the fact that today's youth don't seem to have bedtimes, it is no longer necessary to wait until odd hours when even God isn't awake to hear your favorites. With an internet connection, online music stores like iTunes (or bootlegging via peer-to-peer), and an mp3 player, any song can be acquired at any time. Where's the struggle? I have fond memories of tuning in and waiting for just that one song to come on, or the snowday requests called in to the popular alternative rock station (although at the time I wasn't hip enough to know that "alternative" was a distinct style that by then was nothing more than a buzzword to get people listening). We truly loved our music, and were willing to wait for it.

The variety of tunes was thrown together by lovable disc jockeys. Well, some of them were lovable. Some were huge jerks. But for the most part, that voice on the other end of the transmission that told us who we were listening to was almost a savior, guiding us towards new auditory journeys. And the jokes and ridiculous banter and all kinds of goofy promotions and games they'd play on the air. I remember the "playing the song backwards and seeing if someone can guess it game;" I was amazed at how many people guessed the same thing ten times in a row.

I guess what I really miss is what commercial radio used to be like. Before cookie-cutter pop-punk idiocy and mindless ego-drivel. Before technology made patience obsolete. Before the era of preprogrammed commercial slots that kicked the DJ off mid-sentence or cut off the beginning of the song. Before all the good DJs were replaced by computers run by someone miles away. Before commercial jingles and idiot blather that somehow passed as advertisements (anybody remember that "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it" malarkey? God, I can't ever remember what they were selling) became more important than the music. When they used to play a variety of tunes instead of running the same damn songs at the same damn times every damn day of the week for months on end. Before Clear Channel owned everything (and if Clear Channel doesn't own it, Cumulus Media does).

I won't miss any of that. Radio has done a good job of killing itself in the eyes of the discerning listener. Unfortunately, it's pus-bloated, vile-smelling cadaver doesn't want to stay dead. Point in fact, it wants to sit you down and gnaw on your skull for awhile, using bad soundalike music and annoying adverts to crack through the bone.

RSR's Equivalent of The Clipshow

This is the point when I realize I neglected my blog all day. So, with nothing better to write about, let's do a quick recap of what's been happening in music in 2008. Or, more appropriately, what I think people should be listening to.

The Mountain Goats continued their ridiculously productive discography with Heretic Pride. While in my review of this album, I dinged John Darnielle for his high-pitched and annoying voice, I will concede that this album and all its quirks has grown on me. I still maintain my reservations and withhold a full and unrestrained recommendation, but you could do a hell of a lot worse than checking this out. Another grower is Earth's The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull. Droning sludge that evokes the Old West makes me want to slap iron and down whiskey from unlabeled bottles.

Nine Inch Nails wowed us with two releases thus far: Ghosts I-IV and The Slip. Also amazing is that these two releases went two entirely different directions with Ghosts running gleefully into new and exciting territory and The Slip walking ground so trodden we can navigate it blindfolded. Supposedly, the second part of Year Zero will be coming out this year at some point, but I really couldn't care less since Year Zero grew very tiresome, very fast the first time around.

The Kills, a band I had never heard of until this year, brought a pleasant surprise in the form of Midnight Boom, a release that is delightfully trashy and completely fun. As it currently stands, Midnight Boom is in my personal running for top album this year. Also released the same day was Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Etc.'s 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons. Unfortunately, I have yet to acquire this, but I have heard it was a disappointment from a friend with trusted taste in music. However, both Silver Mt. Zion and godspeed you! black emperor are known to cause great differences in opinion among their fans, so I reserve any judgments until I actually hear it.

Bryan Adams proved he will never grow up with his eleventh album of new material, cleverly titled 11, but I'll let you know the day I actually listen to this man's music and find myself enjoying it. I was subject to enough of his old tracks (thanks to my brother) that I could probably recite "Summer of '69" verbatim (not that it's a hard song to memorize). NO. NEVER AGAIN. BRYAN ADAMS IS BANNED IN MY PRESENCE. If you see a review of 11 here at Rum-Soaked Review, it's because someone gave it to me gratis; I would never spend money on this sh#t. Another one that I refuse to fork over cash for the sole purpose of tearing apart is Scarlett Johansson's abomination that for some reason required the songs of Tom Waits. Anywhere I Lay My Head may bring more people to the fold of Tom Waits worship, but those of us that are fans already don't need to deal with this.

It appears that 2008 was the year of reunions and releases long after the bands in question were thought to have drifted away on the wind. The B-52's, Portishead, and others all presented new material a decade plus after their previous full-length releases of original material, with mixed results. I have been recommended The B-52's Funplex, and Portishead's Third succeeds on some levels but deviates significantly from their original sound. Bauhaus' much-anticipated first album in a quarter of a century, Go Away White, was such a horrendous disappointment that I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I am not alone when I say that many wish Go Away White had gone away before even being released.

A group that seems to finally have grown into their own, The National, followed last year's sleeper hit Boxer with the short film and EP compilation set A Skin, A Night/The Virginia EP. The music CD is quite good and enjoyable as a compilation of b-sides and oddities, but the film served as a good introduction to a filmmaker that I now know to avoid in the future. While Boxer was a sleeper hit, A Skin, A Night succeeds at being just a sleeper. Ask me about how loud I snored.

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds rocked our socks with Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, a departure from the usual Bad Seeds production, but entirely welcome. This is another album that sits high on the list of best albums thus far on 2008. The only thing that could possibly unseat Dig, Lazaus, Dig!!! and Midnight Boom from their standings is if Tom Waits and Scott Walker sucker-punched us in the fourth quarter. I understand Brendan Perry of Dead Can Dance fame has another solo album in the works that might be released this year, so that would round out a pretty potent top five in the Rum-Soaked Review books. Unlikely, but a man can dream, can't he?

Part of the problem here is that 2006 and 2007 spoiled us with some really great stuff. Grinderman (s/t 2007), His Name Is Alive (Detrola 2006 and Xmmer 2007), Scott Walker (The Drift 2006 and And Who Shall Go To The Ball? And What Shall Go To The Ball? 2007), Tom Waits (Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards 2006), and others really set the bar high. It seems that Tuesday (release day in the U.S. for those not familiar) is lacking luster this year, and the next half of the year doesn't look promising. I can only hope that there will be announcements for things that really blow back the top of the head soon. Or, that something completely unfamiliar turns into that sleeper hit for this year.

There's also a large number of things I haven't gotten to yet. I've been meaning to tackle The Flight of the Conchords, The Black Angels' Directions to See a Ghost, Wire's Object 47, and others here and there. If there are things that are downright fantastic (or awful) that you feel should be covered, feel free to tell me about them. Depending on my cash flow at the time, I might actually get to them.

If you are in a band and would like to take the chances at a review, feel free to email, comment, whatever. I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Revenge of the Remasters: Dead Can Dance from First to Last

Despite my hemming and hawing over the expense of the Dead Can Dance remastered hybrid SACD albums, I bought them anyway. Considering the prices came down since that moment of bitching, I can't really complain about anything. However, I will state that buying a band's almost-complete discography all in one shot feels really weird.

I don't need to go into detail about the quality of Dead Can Dance's music. Every album, even the ones I am not crazy in love with, displays a level of artistic attention that is sorely lacking in this era of Digidesign Pro Tools, mp3s, and a general lack of talent or creativity. As such, I won't be discussing the music itself; if you want reviews of the albums, there have been reviews floating around for the past two decades that you can read elsewhere. All you need to know is that I was in heaven playing these albums back to back all damn day.

The remastered "audiophile editions" come in reproductions of the original vinyl sleeves. These are pretty thick cardstock and feel as though they could withstand a larger degree of damage than the usual mini-LP style sleeve. All nine look absolutely beautiful. Brendan Perry and the people at 4AD really made something fetching when they made these, both the original art and the transition to this edition.

The CD sleeves came shipped in reusable outer plastic sleeves instead of shrink-wrap; this is either a move to reduce unnecessary waste and thus save dwindling landfill space or an extra barrier to keep your investment clean. Whatever the reason truly is is irrelevant since I happen to like the added layer of protection on my CDs. Having these thin LP mock-ups as opposed to the original jewel cases means all nine releases fit in a space on the shelf that would fit only four of the originals. For those of us with big music collections, this is a huge plus, but not if your CD organizer is designed solely for standardized CD cases sizes.

Since the sleeves are reproductions of the original vinyl sleeves, all the text on the back (where applicable) is in eye-strain font sizes. Thankfully, all tracks are also listed on the obi wrapped along the spine of each disc sleeve.

As to the music itself, compared to the mp3s on my computer, the eponymous album through to The Serpent's Egg are incredibly improved in sound quality, but that may be due to the fact that I've been listening to mp3s and not actual CD quality. I never had their first four or last albums, so my opportunities to make direct comparisons, CD to CD, is seriously hampered. To that end, I am limited to Aion, Into The Labyrinth, and Toward The Within.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not hearing much immediate audible difference in the remastered Aion versus the older CD version, and Into The Labyrinth's remastering only becomes apparent at "Tell Me About The Forest (You Once Called Home)". Toward The Within is improved, but the difference is very subtle for the most part. Perhaps the remastering was more for the benefit of the earlier material, or it is more evident on the SACD layer of the discs. Unfortunately, I don't have an SACD-capable player, and thus cannot take full advantage of these discs (yet). Should that change any time soon, I will let you all know what the difference is like.

Every band, no matter whether or not they are your favorite artist, inevitably does something to drive you up a wall, and Dead Can Dance is no exception. The Garden of The Arcane Delights EP is something that was never issued on its own CD until now. It was tacked onto the end of the self-titled album when that was released on CD, and most people have never heard it separately. The EP being issued apart from the first album is neat on a thematic basis, but charging the same for an EP of 4 songs at about 15 minutes total as for the other full-length albums is somewhat infuriating.

Their insistence to reproduce the original vinyl is taken to some ridiculous points, such as Into The Labyrinth, Toward The Within, and Spiritchaser featuring two inner disc sleeves when there's only one CD each (the original vinyl versions were split onto two records apiece). That took me a couple minutes to figure out. If they wanted to be that precise with their reproductions, why not issue it on two CDs as well?

My friend Frankie Teardrop's first question when he heard about these reissues was, "What kind of extras are there?" The answer: nothing. No bonus tracks, no previously unreleased material, dusty demos, etc., which will be a major annoyance to those that want that sort of thing with their reissues. The only major selling point is the fact that these are remastered and in hybrid SACD, which doesn't mean jack to many casual listeners (I suppose that's why this is the "audiophile edition"). However, Into The Labyrinth features two songs ("Bird" and "Spirit") that were on the original vinyl and apparently cut from the CD edition. While it's nice to see that particular restoration, if you are an obsessive Dead Can Dance fan you already have the assorted CD compilations that these tracks made appearances on.

My final approximation is that there's no sense buying them if you already have the original CD issues. Personally, I'm for the most part satisfied with what I've purchased, but that's more because I never had most of these albums. I was a late-comer to the DCD party, and most of these albums were out of print by the time I was introduced to this fantastic band. Plus, I intend to pick up an SACD-capable player someday to take advantage of the SACD capability of these discs and hopefully unlock the amazing sound contained therein. While these editions look and sound beautiful, I can only recommend them if you are obsessive about high digital sound quality, have the stereo with the necessary equipment, have the cash to blow, or don't have any Dead Can Dance albums to begin with. Even then, you could probably just wait until August and pick up the regular remastered CD editions, which will come packaged in super jewel cases (and no doubt lack the assorted silliness of these vinyl reproduction sleeves).



Dead Can Dance official website, myspace, and 4AD page
(photo snagged from 4AD.com)

Special Announcement: Help Out The Prids After Their Accident

For those of you not familiar with the ridiculously growing number of independent music scenes, you probably haven't heard of The Prids. Hell, I've never heard of The Prids. But they are friends of several bands that I like, so naturally I would eventually hear about them.

I wish I could have heard of them a different way. Maybe by catching them on tour, or a friend saying, "Check out this band; they are pretty cool."

No, no such luck. They were in a car accident in Fresno on Sunday. Tire blew out and they rolled. Everyone is alive, thank the maker, but they are tight for cash and need some financial assistance. Two people in the accident aren't insured, some of the injuries are what we ordinary people call "nasty" and the medical industry calls "expensive" (hell, hospitals charge you out the @$$ for everything), plus there's the difficulty of getting from Fresno back home to Portland.

This is where the fans come in. There is a PayPal donation site set up to help The Prids out. If you can spare some change to get these people patched up and on their way, please do so. Awesome independent rock can't happen if the artists are tied down with hospital bills.

Here's the donation link for those of you so inclined. If it's not working, you can send money by using "donate@theprids.com" in PayPal, or just go to the band website or myspace for a working link.

Nostalgia Factor: Singles

I remember reading an article in Blender recently (as in, within the last 4 months) about great blunders in the music industry. One of which is the slow death of the single.

I understand it began with the rise of CDs. Since it cost the same to print a full CD album as a CD single (more in fact, if the smaller 80mm CD were used... which makes no sense because smaller is typically cheaper), record companies decided to phase the single out. Why spend the same money to make a product that will not have as much return as you do a product with a greater return?

For those of you not familiar with the idea of the single, let me refresh you. A single is a short recording featuring something between one to four songs, at least one of which was drawn from an album released around the same time. The expression "b-side" comes from the vinyl single, in that the album track would be side A and side B would be extras that are often not on the album. The idea being that people could pick up the new top hit songs and try out a band they may have not heard before. It was a great way to get an introduction to a band's music without having to pay for a full album, and thus risk wasting money on something you may not like. It also allowed consumers to pack around their favorite hot new tracks without having to wait for them to come on the radio.

So, record companies decided to slowly phase this shorter format out. Personally, I never bought many singles, but I like the idea. It offers a primer to a band's work, as well as a collector's item since singles are usually limited print runs.

Unfortunately, we are now in the digital age. So many people these days never set foot in a music store to begin with. Instead, they cruise to the iTunes online store, SNOCAP stores, peer-to-peer networks, etc. Fill up those iPods, kiddies! Why buy two or three songs on a disc when you can bootleg the whole album for nothing?

Thankfully, some artists and labels still release singles. It's a lost art, but usually found where independents roam. With the growing interest in vinyl among the younger crowds in the past few years, we may see a resurgence in vinyl singles in the coming years. Of course, since the mainstream music industry (see: The Big Four) are a pack of phenomenal morons, that particular train will most likely blow right past them.



>I'd be that prick of a recording artist to only release music on vinyl. I'll let you know if I ever make it big.
>No actual content here either; so sue me.

Snap, crackle, pop.

Due to an unfortunate family emergency, I haven't had the chance to adequately prepare a review for today.

Instead of tying you down with sob stories and rushed blather, I will instead extol the virtues of vinyl over other forms of recorded sound.

*ahem*

IT SOUNDS BETTER.

Yeah, that's pretty much all you need to know. Stay tuned for something with actual content on Thursday.

An Apocalyptic Night on the Town: HUMANWINE, Fighting Naked

"for $19.95 you can get 20% more freedumb brand"

-from "Wake Up!" (Brewer/McNiss)

Late post because I'm a tad down today, but this blog isn't about me and my mopey depressed whatsit; it's about the music! So away with that bullsh#t, and let's get to reviewing.

I can't remember exactly when I encountered HUMANWINE's music. Probably stumbled on them from someone else's posting about a band they were playing with or something of that nature. I heard a couple songs, downloaded a few off their myspace page (I think), and eventually ordered the full length album when it was officially released. For lack of cash at the moment and a lack of anything new that caught my eye this week, we're going to backtrack to last year and rant about their debut album Fighting Naked for awhile.

As a quick disclaimer, my copy of Fighting Naked is touted as a limited 1 of 1,000 edition; I don't know if they are planning on a different edition being released (or currently being sold on their website) or if that later edition will feature different music. Or if they only plan on doing 1,000 copies of this album period.

Fighting Naked features some fascinating combination of styles. The first thing that leaps out at me is how much metal influence is in their music. This is pretty heavy stuff. Cabaret has a spot here, but not as much as other think. There's also a sort of demented carnival aspect to their sound that has a niche in the contemporary independent scene; unfortunately, not a big enough niche. More people need to be listening to this sort of stuff. However, HUMANWINE's greatest strength is when they whip out the battered tea kettles and drumsticks and start clanging like unchained children in the kitchen bashing pots and pans with wooden spoons. It's good to know their inner child is still alive and kicking... and making a lot of noise. There's some damn good guitar work on this album, as exemplified about four minutes into "Worthless Ode."

Holly Brewer's vocals are a massive strength to HUMANWINE. They probably wouldn't be nearly the band they are if she were not the singer she is. I can't push her voice enough; she's phenomenally impressive. Not falling into the typical growling of metal is probably the biggest plus in my department, but she leaps past that standard and goes running off into the distance with a variety of highs and lows and fantastic melodious tones that I can't get enough of.

Initially, I didn't really like Fighting Naked. On first listen, it was too much metal, too heavy, and not enough of the found-object trashbanging that I was hoping for. I have to say it's grown on me, but I still maintain that one of my primary criticisms still holds. They are too politically driven with much of this; it's a trend in the arts that I have been concerned about for some time. Yes, I know the past eight years have been a nightmare of government abuse and psychosis, but we can only be reminded of this fact so many times before we shut off the stereo. Everywhere I go, I find another writer and musician decrying The Shrub and Darth Cheney. To HUMANWINE's credit, they do perform their protestations with a distinct flair that is lacking in much of "thou doth protest too much" music that is being spewed out ad nauseum all over any area with some much a slight inclination towards the political left. As such, I am forgiving of them for this; they aren't one-note on this topic either. There's plenty of variety lyrically speaking, and as I've already said, Brewer can deliver these lyrics with potency.

The design aesthetic for Fighting Naked is really cool. The demented drawings on front cover, back cover, and liner notes follow the crazy carnival concept that in so prevalent in their music. I really find the strategic placement of the bar code on the back cover amusing in a black humor way, and the notice next to the FBI warning is a riot. Those few sentences say more than just something funny; it's also a testement to their counter-culture standing, that they rebel not only in their lyrics, but also disapprove of government interference in the will of the artists.

My favorite tracks in "Rivolta Silenziosa," "Dim Allentown Cove" (it's practically a pirate song, how could I not love it?), "Worthless Ode," "Script Language," and the quiet and touching "When In Rome." There's also a hidden track of a spoken word experiment thing in the style of a news report, which then runs into another version of "Script Language" recorded as to sound like a static-obscured film reel, complete with appropriate sound effects. Oddities like that are what really make an album for me, the little touches that really drive the atmosphere.

Fighting Naked is a strong cup of coffee, so I'm going to recommend listening to a variety of their songs online before committing, or perhaps catching them live instead. I've wanted to catch one of their shows for awhile, but our schedules never match up (when they are in the area vs. when I have to money to actually see them perform). I've heard they put on a wild show, so I figure there isn't much to lose by spending a night out to watch the madness. They're opening for the Squirrel Nut Zippers (that's a blast from the past name, isn't it?) on July 18th in Boston, so I suppose they are catching someone's attention. The Rum-Soaked Review jury is still deliberating on what to think of HUMANWINE; it's a wild ride to be sure, but there's a few things that are holding me back from screaming out praises and falling to the floor enraptured by the sound. Not perfect, but doing a fine job nonetheless. I look forward to what they will do and where they will go with their sound; their style could be applied to a variety of subject matters, and I hope they pursue different concepts with their future efforts.



HUMANWINE's website and myspace page

Indulge me for a moment here...

Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw at The Escapist said in a review about a month ago that this is the season of "bugger all's coming out." I agree with that statement, although I refer to music as opposed to video games. While he took the opportunity to review a game he thought was overlooked from a couple years ago, I instead will indulge in a request of sorts.

When I was in college, I was introduced to the animations of the Brothers Quay. One of the aspects of their mind-blowing animations that always haunted me long after watching the films was the music. The backing compositions really inspired me and echo through my mind on a regular basis. Interpret that as hearing voices if you must, but when you actually hear this stuff, you'll understand.

The composer for almost all of the Quay's animations is Lech (or Leszek) Jankowski. His music is absolutely brilliant, moving, and has inspired numerous poems for this poor writer. Unfortunately, if I want to listen to any of his music, I need to throw in my Brothers Quay Collection DVD, which inevitably means I will wind up watching the screen instead of focusing on the music. I will admit that this isn't a bad thing since the Quays are geniuses in their own right, sometimes I just want to separate the two and enjoy the subtle nuances of some beautiful tunes.

This is where you, my (presumably) loyal reader come in. I understand that there has been a CD released of Jankowski's music (so sayeth his official website). It is titled Pause in Shadow (Street of Crocodiles 49/5), supposedly was completed last year, but I have never seen it for sale anywhere. If any of you have seen it anywhere, please let me know; I love this music and would really like to have it on CD. There was also a CD of his soundtrack to Institute Benjamenta, but that seems to be out of print and unavailable at this time.

Please, point me in the right direction, so that I might satiate my craving for this awesome music. Of course, I'm making the assumption that you, my reader, will not become obsessed with Jankowski now that I've introduced you to his work.



Lech Jankowski's official website, with a couple mp3s for you to download.

Snarky Opinions, Issue 6: Geffen Needs Your Money

My friend Kevin recently posted about how he feels that neither Geffen nor Beck need his thirteen dollars in exchange for Beck's new album. I disagree, at least with regard to the record label. Geffen really does need you money. Otherwise, how are they going to stay in business with all the money wasted on Chinese Democracy for the past decade and a half?

He also posted this picture a couple days ago:


The real thing, or the miracle of Photoshop? Only time will tell.

Now, I've already discussed my dislike for Guns N' Roses; I need not reiterate how annoying I think Axl Rose's hideous caterwauling is. But I actually hope that Chinese Democracy, when it is released (if ever), does well in sales. Otherwise, Geffen will be really f#cked, and I don't want them f#cked like that. Well, not until I finish my collection of Sonic Youth albums, that is. After that, I don't really care. Yes, I'm being a bit selfish today.

That's all I got, really. No other major opinions.

Until next week, my little chickadees. As your attorney, I advise you drink heavily and enjoy much grilled goodness on the day of our nation's birth tomorrow. If you are a reader from a nation other than the US of A, then go grab a pint or two anyway.

undRess Béton, tarentaliogy defloration

Here’s where myspace finds itself useful. You have no doubt looked at a band’s myspace page and wondered why other bands must be obnoxious when posting comments on their favorite’s pages, as though the comment feature was solely to be used as advertising for the smaller bands. More often than not, the lesser-known band is lesser-known for a reason, that reason being they stink like a moldy compost heap. But, as I was looking at the myspace page for personal favorite Einstürzende Neubauten, I couldn’t help but notice this one comment from a person or band that used a modified image of Andre Breton as its default userpic. That got my attention immediately.

My brief research (and I do mean brief) finds this to be the surrealist sound project of one Jaan Patterson. I know little else about undRess Béton (had to turn to blogger to find Jaan’s gender), but I get the feeling that this was mostly composed on a computer, using soundbites, samples, and assorted effects on a music program. Usually, that drives me up a wall, but at points, undRess Béton hits the nail on its misshapen head, thus I am forgiving. Occasionally. Babelfish tells me that “béton” is French for “concrete.”

Undress concrete… I like it.

The whole of tarentaliogy defloration is made up of sound collage, or audio salad; for example, “steve’s handsome bite” features speed metal guitar, bells, a piano sample that repeats ad nauseam, and eventually just throws them all together into a nonsensical cacophony. I don’t know if the artist’s lack of musical coherence is intentional, but unfortunately noise music is a niche market, so I wish undRess Béton best of luck.

undRess Béton calls to mind industrial acts like SPK and Throbbing Gristle; experimental, wild, and disturbing on a certain level. We must consider also that the early industrial musicians were indeed inspired by the Surrealists and Dadaists, so this artist isn’t really doing anything that hasn’t already been done.

The trouble with reviewing such music is that, since the artists do so much to defy categorization, it’s difficult to describe. Some would probably refer to this as nonsensical dross coming from someone suffering the worst degree of attention deficit disorder, while others will hail it as pure genius descended from Heaven. I have difficulty making out much of the words, but even when I do hear them, I hear what we would refer to as “automatic writing.” Automatic writing is the oldest and purest surrealist technique, so I am not surprised to see it here. Actually, I’m rather glad that it’s not a dead technique; keep it alive, Jaan.

Do I think this is good music? To be honest, I really haven’t a bloody clue. I do, however, know that this sort of thing has been done before. As such, I’m not exactly mindblown or swept into the chaos as other people may be (one review I read seemed so blown away as to write the review in some bizarre, near-gibberish automatic-style). Stepping aside from what I have reviewed (or just yammered about) to what is on the undRess Béton myspace page, I feel the stronger tracks by undRess Béton are the ones streaming online and not available for download. Tracks such as “inside a couch” are outright unsettling and get me really excited and fascinated since I love this sort of music more than is mentally healthy.

This artist can be going places if she polishes up her game and looks at what other artists have done in this particular vein. If you are already interested in experimental music, then this will most likely at least warrant a spin, but if constant deviation from any coherence makes you ill, then steer clear of this; it will only make you sick. I personally, enjoy this, in a way. I’m not entirely sure; “ambivalent” will henceforth be known as my middle name. tarentaliogy defloration is available online for free download (thus why I’m reviewing it), so there’s no risk other than taking up some hard drive space… or damaging your mind.



undRess Béton at myspace