What you said about T1 Face, it wasn't till Schism Prism my interest piqued and I knew what they were about.

Here's my pick



Hot Water Music - Fuel for the Hate Game

Album's up on Spotify.

Totum One by Master Musicians Of Bukakke

Never heard of these guys before selecting them for this thread, they're a hybrid group formed mainly from bands from the Seattle avant garde drone and doom rock scene. I've listened to a lot of the associated bands before but never these guys.

There are definitely the seattle scene influences in there if you know what you're looking for but they're lurking beneath the surface, they aren't the main driving force and its a million miles away from the almost monochromatic traditions of the scene. These guys are far more interested in exploring ritualistic eastern world music avanues and mixing contemporary and traditional psychedelia than simply rocking out downtuned guitars. And it works for me, i listen to alot of ambient and drone when in the right mood and this is solid, pretty inventive stuff. I really like the mix of instrumentation; there's the doom rocky stuff, fuzzy downtuned guitars and drones creeping in and out but rarely taking centre stage  - it's only on 'schism prism' that they get anywhere near a traditional doom rock outfit - then there's all the tribal instruments, pounding drums and percussion bells that i think work really well in this context; and finally there are subtle electronic elements here and there, synths and sounds very reminiscent of down tempo psychedelic and GOA trance (it reminds me a lot of that seminal ambient trance album 'The Mystery Of The Yeti' by, amongst others Simon Posford and Raja Raj but warped by fuzzy rock sensibilities).

Track 1-4 are movements of the same piece really, the music never ceases and each track shares the same general tempo and works from its predecessor as if it were a single piece. For me this was the strongest part of the album but then Schism Prism is probably the best stand alone track, though its the most predictable. I thought 'Cascade Cathedral' was probably the weakest one, i really liked the sweet acoustics and the tribal flute (?) but i think the track lacked something to finish it off, felt like maybe another layer was needed.

Really liking this and will be checking out their other two 'Totum' albums. Its a good blend of drugged out trippy music and demented ritualistic soundscapes played competently and with a decent helping of humour. 4/5

Magic ones?

So far so good, everything bar one on rdio. Still waiting for a couple of choices I see.

Searching For Sugar Man By Rodriguez

I warmed towards this straight away. Nice earthy, analogue sound and natural instruments, concisely arranged, traditional folk pop songs and a great voice. I mean, yeah, the guys owes a gigantic debt to Dylan on almost every account (assuming he was post-Dylan) but i don't see that as a game breaking problem - he's influenced heavily by a great songwriter, thats fair enough, i mean Dylan was heavily influenced by the folk scene so you can follow that chain of influence back further than one artist.

Production wise there's a little too much space in between the layers for my liking, sometimes songs sound a bit spread out and consequently a little under-full but by and large i enjoyed the sound of the record. I'm a sucker for pre-digi age recordings, i just like the dusty, organic sound of real instruments being recorded by real people in a room (you want to hear the room, fuck music that sounds like its made in a vacuum). I'm not fundamentally opposed to electronica or digital recording but 60s style recordings do win me over almost instantly so this album had a head start with me.

The song writing and instrumentation is all very competent. There's not much unexpected - but there are some unusual sound choices here and there which really worked, the analogue synth noodling in the middle eight of 'Sugar Man' for example - but thats not really the point, its traditional song writing with traditional instruments. Every song is lead by the grainy acoustic guitar and the vocal primarily, then from song to song the surrounding composition changes slightly; you've got sweet string sections swooping around the vocal melodies in some songs, a full band (with a really warm bass sound) on others and then maybe just a bongo and a subtle lead guitars on others. For each song the chosen instruments and arrangements are well considered and work, there's nothing on the record that sounds out of placed or mis-judged but it can sound a little safe and repetitive at times but never to the point of actual distraction.

It definitely has the sound of a compilation though, and this is a weakness for me. Songs picked out of context don't sit together as well as records that have been made as one project. The songs feel like individual tracks rather than flowing together as a record. And there are a few weak tracks: 'I Wonder' doesn't have enough going on for it in the melody and the lyrics don't really hit the mark making it a bit of a dud but as weak points go they're not that bad. 'Sandrevan Lullaby' really caught my ear, i'd say thats my favourite song. Its such a sweet sounding tune initially, really smooth and tranquil, gorgeous violin, dreamy guitars and then you drop into a minor chord and it becomes so bitter sweet as some of Rodriguez's best vocals and lyrics play out amongst the building layers. And then there's that beautiful outro as we go back to major. I also thought 'A Most Disgusting Song' stood out, the spoken word intro demands your attention. Also 'Sugar Man' is a fantastic introduction song to the artist and sounds like a definite hit.

Yeah really liked it, i'd like to hear some of his actual LP's to see how they hold up. 4/5

The singing style is Dylan-esque but Rodriguez can definitely hold a tune better. The lyrics and song structure owe more of a debt to Dylan than the actual vocals, though they are similar too. It also made me think of Adam Green at times, the serious version of what Adam Green does a tongue in cheek approximation of. I guess its just the folk styles with surreal or abstract lyrics.

Is the documentary worth seeing? I have been meaning to but maybe i really should now.

Not really enjoyed You Am I album Hourly Daily.

Though it reminds me a bit of G. Love and I can imagine it would do well being played in a pool setting whilst I drink Margarita's.

Anything close to G.Love space will do me. That's Monday sorted.

I'm fresh out of LSD but might try MMOB tomorrow when I sort out the attic.

Yeah i prefer Dylans voice. He's a vocalist not a singer but there's nothing wrong with that. Oddly singing isn't essential for song.

When is my round 2?
Have been listening but not commenting soz.

Ah O.K no worries, in that case add me to the list at the bottom.

Liveinadive wrote:

Ah O.K no worries, in that case add me to the list at the bottom.

Added.

I an really enjoying Good Mornin' so far. Reminds me of all the indie bands I loved in my youth. A bit Teenage Fanclub, a bit BMX Bandits, a bit Bluetones. Great choice Face.

Listened to Searching for Sugar Man a couple of times this week and I'm still on the fence about it, but maybe that's partly the album itself. The first two tracks grabbed my attention, Sugar Man particularly is a great opener but I struggled to keep focused at times.

As has been mentioned, the fact that it's a compilation plays a part in this as a few tracks are quite jarring. The strings in Cause and I Think Of You seemed unnecessary and they were two of the weakest tracks. It was like shorthand to try and stir some emotions in you but felt over-produced for me. Having said that, it fitted much better in Sandrevan Lullaby.

I haven't listened to a huge amount of Dylan so can't draw too many comparisons but, save for a few parts where it almost sounds like he's trying to impersonate Dylan (This Is Not A Song), there is something about his voice that draws me in. The more one-man-and-his-guitar sections stand out for me and allow his lyrics to come to the fore with A Most Disgusting Song being one of my favourites.

I'd go back to it but would be more interested in trying out the original albums to see how much difference that makes. I'll also be checking out the film.

3/5