People are always asking me what new music I’m listening to. Naturally, these things are bound to happen when one reaches the forefront of the blog community. I begin by telling folks that if they are looking for good new music they are going to be disappointed, because most of it sucks right now. Usually the person asking for my advice will start crying at this point. But I will place a reassuring hand on their shoulder and tell them, honestly, that if they are searching for something cool, I can probably make a recommendation or two. I will note that ten years ago I could have rattled off dozens of new bands, but these days everyone with a computer and a microphone has a stupid MySpace profile or a Kickstarter or iMeem or iKonmusic or BandCamp or BandCage or…you get the idea. Everyone’s putting their music online and 99.9% of it is pure shit. The good stuff can sometimes get lost in the fray.
So, in case you’re wondering, here’s a list of some modern groups I’m enjoying right now. Some of these are more familiar names, others are not. The one unifying force behind this list is that each artist on this list is 100% Swan Fungus approved.
• The Conformists – I haven’t heard from these guys in a while, but I just found out they’ve released a new album called None Hundred. It is now available on Sick Room Records, home of my friend Rich Fessler’s band Bear Claw (they have an album due out next month as well!). The Conformists have been written about sporadically throughout the history of this blog but I don’t think I’ve ever really featured them as heavily as I should. Once my copy of None Hundred arrives you can be sure I will do my best to promote it. Tone deaf singer, tone deaf bassist, insanely talented guitarist and drummer. Put it all together and you’ve got a heaving, heavy, noisy, math-y rock monster. [Listen to “Jesus Was A Shitty Carpenter”]
• Emeralds / Solo Projects – Okay, so Emeralds is nothing new to people who have read this website for the past two-plus years. I’ve consistently championed Emeralds since I first caught wind of Solar Bridge in ’08. But it hasn’t been until recently that the members’ solo projects have begun to more-widely distribute their own music. In the past few months Weird Forest has reissued guitarist Mark McGuire‘s Tidings and Amethyst Waves cassettes as a limited-edition double LP set. Editions Mego has recently put out his new solo album, Living With Yourself. The John Elliott/Sam Goldberg record Mist on Amethyst Sunset is a mind-blowing synth record. In short, the solo work by the members of Emeralds is just as fantastic as the full band recordings. If you don’t open yourself up to all the side projects and solo projects, you’re missing out. Start with the Wagon website and work your way through all the confusion. [Listen to Mark McGuire’s “Clouds Rolling In”]
• Orchestra Di Rockford Kabine – A German duo who describe their sound as “acid smurf”. Doesn’t make much sense to me, but it’s definitely druggy, and most of the tracks on Italian Music: 31 Invalid Movie Themes are short snippets of sounds, so maybe that’s how they arrived at the description. Aquarius Records described it as “Like DJ Shadow doing Morricone.” Need anyone say more? I’m pretty sure the vinyl is already out-of-print, so I’d hurry up and buy the CD before that slips out-of-print, too. [Listen to “Dio In Leopardi”]
• Arp – So named (at least I think so) for the venerable synthesizer commonly found on many of the classic psych and prog records I love. Ian turned me onto this musician, Alexis Geogopoulos, and his take on the sounds brought to prominence by Tangerine Dream, Cluster, Popol Vuh and more. On In Light, everything is beautiful and warm, from the distorted, buzzing drones in the background to the countless overlapping synth melodies. Highly recommended if you’re a fan of Emeralds and its members’ side projects. [Listen to “The Rising Sun”]
• Purling Hiss – An @andyzax recommendation cited during one of our frequent conversations about new music we’re enjoying. I don’t remember if he saw them at South by Southwest or heard of them elsewhere. Either way, he got me a copy of their self-released six-track CDr and it’s been in regular iTunes rotation for the past five or six months. It’s as loud and blown-out as High Rise, but deep beneath the white noise there’s a glimmer of traditional rock posturing. I don’t mean that in the bad way, it’s just cool and confident. There was a rumor circulating for a while that these guys were going to record a session for WFMU but I don’t know if it ever came to fruition. I just know they’re coming to LA in November and I will most definitely be in attendance. [Listen to “Almost Washed My Hear”]
• Nisennenmondai – Japan’s answer to Electrelane, on drugs! An Electrical Audio forum and Aquarius Records recommendation that I downloaded and forgot about (the album is called Tori / Neji but they have a newer one called Fan from 2009). An all-girl noise/experimental band. And people say I don’t respect women! Please. These girls are fucking nuts and crazy talented, especially the drummer. Don’t mistake them for Merzbow or Fushitsusha or anything like that, their sound is way more of a if-they-play-that-note-two-hundred-more-times-I’m-going-to-leave kind of cool. The aforementioned CD from 2008 contains tracks called “This Heat” “The Pop Group” and “Sonic Youth.” That should give you an idea of where they’re coming from. And if you need any more evidence of how hard these girls rock, check out this live YouTube clip. [Listen to “This Heat”]
Feel free to use the comments section to tell me who you’re listening to now, if indeed you think there is a modern band you believe is worth my attention.
