Stadiums & Shrines

Contact High

· Audio · Tagged With:
Contact High
Share on TwitterShare on Facebook Share

 

The watery guitar, the janky drums, the blown-out bass, the barely-there piano, the lazy, lingering mirage of a chorus… “Contact High” hits fresh, even if classically sensible. And tight, despite its loose, generally whatever-y warm tone. There’s a drift that PRO TEENS‘ Andy Phipps is messing around. Then again he really has his songwriting shit together here. Unsurprisingly, he’s been up to this for some time now (formerly with St Ranger). And his newly formed band can be found on some bills in their hometown of Phoenix, as well as on a forthcoming split through Arizona ‘desert art’ label Rubber Brother Records.

[image derived from a Klaus Leidorf photograph]

Some Nights Last A Lifetime

· Audio · Tagged With:
Some Nights Last A Lifetime
Share on TwitterShare on Facebook Share

 

In lieu of lyrics, “Some Nights Last A Lifetime” illustrates with tone. A guitar ruminates—psychedelic, somnolent, restless—riffing between the ease and unease of sleep deprivation. Sure, the name helps, but even if this thing were untitled it would still have us dazed and drifting in a dimly lit room somewhere, for what feels like an eternity.

Tomorrow marks the release of Heavy Heart, the latest batch of introspective pop from Steve Sobs, aka our good friend Eric Littmann. The limited-run cassette can be pre-ordered now via Waaga.

Bury The Lines

· Audio · Tagged With:
Bury The Lines
Share on TwitterShare on Facebook Share

 

Tempo spirals. Sirens sound about a quarter in. Deadpan narration follows, locked in an eery, krautrock zen. “Bury The Lines” is doomed from the start, proudly. Just before impact, it takes a moment to savor the nausea: the engine cuts, the beat suspends, the synth wanders, and then it all comes back in flames.

A self-titled LP from Brooklyn-based duo Eaters is out April 15th on Driftless Recordings / Dull Tools.

The Creation of Greatness: A Mix by Albino Deers

· Mixes · Tagged With:
Albino Deers
Share on TwitterShare on Facebook Share

 

A wordless, entrancing little mix entitled The Creation of Greatness can flow in countless directions. There’s a certain charm in going about this one blindly…

Manfred Werder – 2008
Brambles – To Speak Of Solitude
Jana Winderen – Wind Over Old Land
Pausal – Bottom-Up Pause
Harry Escott – Sex Scene
Toshiya Tsunoda – Seashore, Venice Beach, 31 Jul 01
Olan Mill – Pampas (Rurre)
Chris Watson – Valle Dei Venti
Clem Leek – 51°03.773′
Jana Winderen – Sense Of Latent Power
Harry Escott – End Credits

When asked though, Vyvyan Colonna, the artist behind Rome-based project Albino Deers, did provide some additional insight. To summarize: greatness is not only the product of beauty and power, of Greek muses and distant wonder, but also of ordinary darkness, of human misery and loneliness.