Conveyor on Gold Robot Records

The seven inch series is an ambitious undertaking. Gold Robot Records very first releases were on the humble 7" format back in 2007 with a release from Roman Ruins. It's great to see them return to the diminutive size that started it all and with not just one single, but the beginning of an entire series, "GOLD". The first one kicking this off is from Brooklyn's Conveyor, a band who I found out recently scored THX 1138 live at the nitehawk cinema in Williamsburg and have released material previously on GR. Hunter says these tracks came out of sessions for their full length due out in 2014.

"Mammal Food" dives seriously into the weird off kilter sound and rhythm of multiple layered distorted vocals that come down on the side of Jeff Magnum tracks from Airplane... with that same kind of reckless abandon. Crashing headbashing cymbals on top of chamber music layers of '70s glam. A gleaming pop attention to detail while staying experimental and in the spirit of those 4 track nightmare's from Lou Barlow or early Bill Callahan with the devices of today. The gleaming clean of even harder too hit appropriate amounts of crackle and weirdness to make the track surprising even to the band. Impossible to duplicate live and I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the direction of this series because something this complex and unique is only going to exist exactly like this on the seven inch format. These truly bizarre, intense experiments come in fits and starts run through a variety of effects that compress and sustain and then distort, whatever they were originally ends up in this layered dessert of day glo colored cake. It's not natural - but it's impossible to ignore tempting delicious cake.

They continue to bring their sense of blown out, unhinged madness to B-Side's "Pushups" with supremely blown out guitar distortions of classic pop melodic songwriting reinterpreted by alien robots who came in contact with "I want to hold your hand" after it had traveled millions of miles. breaking up somewhere near a comet and meticulously pieced back together by generations of mechanical offspring. Haunting foreign voices over a bare, stripped down kick and snare recorded in that empty practice room with a drunken sliced up guitar's dying breath. The exact meaning of these lyrics are escaping me, they've managed to land this airplane of demented autotune effects into a chorus of distorted robots like a Polyphonic Spree of broken machines writing their latest attempt to prove they should get into heaven. The same way Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots sounded so unbelievably alien, so crytal clear and muddy at the same time, catchy and impossible to follow. Conveyor is dealing with those contradictions sounding incredible on vinyl turned up to catch the subtle crackles of those pedals melting.

You can also bet that Hunter has gone to great lengths to press this on gold vinyl in a die cut sleeve. Only 250?! Get this from Gold Robot Records.

SXSW - Gold Robot - Father and Daughter - Small Plates Records - Split

I've heard of three way band split singles but three labels?

Three labels I've been following since the beginning of 7inches came together in Austin recently for a showcase at SXSW. If there was one reason I would have braved the insanity to go down there it would have been to check this show out. At the very least just to meet Hunter and Jessi who've I've emailed with a bunch over the years and are the kind of super nice I'm happy to support as much as possible. I also love that they all know each other and joined forces to put this single together specifically for the show. Great idea and they have a few left from Gold Robot Records. From SXSW and back....

This limited edition flexi 7" was given away to attendees of the 1st annual SXSW showcase put on by Gold Robot, Father/Daughter, and Small Plates Records. It features unreleased tracks by Monster Rally, The Everywheres, & Gracie. A limited number are being made available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis. LIMIT ONE PER PERSON/HOUSEHOLD.

Conveyor on Gold Robot Records

Hunter at Gold Robot Records sent me a copy of a new single from Brookyln's Conveyor who also happen to have a full length coming out on Paper Garden Records...with both of these labels behind these guys it's about time I checked out a couple of tracks from the unclassifiable quartet.

A-Side's "Mane" features an acoustic with a breathy layered doubled vocal. An odd bassline juts in sounding an awful like early Talking Heads, or that's just because I got done talking about Jonathan Letham's book at the Word Music book club group, but there's that same kind of primitive polyrhythmic sound this acoustic keeps riding over. The sound is impeccably clear, these weirdo eclectic sounds are trapped in amber, shining in a sort of bizarre Flaming Lips aesthetic. The whole thing slowly moving glitchy and bleepy, the vocal melody taking a Graceland world music direction. That joyous chorus sound based on all kinds of classic trained voices going way back to the earliest form of harmony. There's an awful lot of seemingly random elements, all delivered polished and shining, in an operatic, narrative way. Insanely dense with pop pieces, this carnival of cheapo drum machines wind the track down with a whispered choir chorus, playful, changing direction at the drop of a hat and insanely worked over, each tiny detail examined under a microscope.

B-Side's "Maine" then starts with a warm up orchestral toy xylophone parade and a choir of far off ooooooo's from a male choir, disconnected from the plinks....slowly turning into some kind of childrens Animal Collective, the new psyche of vocal sounds, the odder the rhythms the better with baffling snaps and chorus effects. The vocal, like with the Collective is almost the most important sound, exploring that most basic of instrumnets is the most important thing here. Very Sung Tongs, the vocalizations scaling insane highs that twist back to create a chorus that winds back in on itself. That unnatural sounding acoustic is going the way of Rabbit without the YELLING attack Animal Collective always tries to surprise you with. The same devotion to extreme experimentation but with an overall more melodic focus...paying attention to those unusual hooks with a severe unique slant.

On thick white vinyl, glossy inner sleeve and matte watercolor painting from Benji. This one can be found on the great Gold Robot Records who says:

"Mane" is the second single from Conveyor's upcoming debut album. The song is a would've/could've/should've embrace of lost love over a sub-Saharan carousel of acoustic rounds. The B-side, "Maine," is the sound of an Acadian lover's hymn as retold by four somnambulists. The songs were recorded in Brooklyn, NY during winter, 2012, two prayers for a summer salvation. Conveyor is Timothy John Masters, Evan Michael Garfield, Gary Alan Busch, Jr., and Michael Ryan Pedron. Recorded at 60 s 2nd st. (Brooklyn, NY, USA). Mastered by TW Walsh.

60 East 2nd Street? It warms my heart that this was was sent across the country to Hunter who pressed it and mailed it to me, not more that 10 blocks from that very spot. Oh seven inches....

Yalls - Fantasy on Gold Robot Records

I've been trying to keep up with Hunter over at Gold Robot, and doing a terrible job... just getting to this Yalls single now which was released a couple of months ago now at least. Yalls seems to be the solo project of Dan Casey and is one of those incredibly dense, painstakingly crafted electronic pop soups which can only ever be just a taste of this enormous meal Yalls is ultimately after.

"Settle Down" sets the everything-will-be-appropriated tone with a crazy panning, cheap rhythm section, busted keyboard samples, and a distressed organ being pushed through some kind of faulty speaker, catching it's weazey breath. Yalls is of course, happy to force fit this rag tag crew of sounds, approaching it all in a sparkly pop-fun way, composing with panned, gated high hats and carnival organs swinging into another bouncy loop. Vocally there's a choir of Polyphonic Spree sounding voices, serious, trained melody makers all solidly harmonizing, becoming this enormous pile of probably just Dan's. It goes underwater in a psyche section of plinky high piano keys, off rhythm toms and bleeps from an old 808, drawing a lot of inspiration from straight up disco. All these kind of dance elements but skillfully hacked together in a kind of fun haphazard way like something Odelay era. Not as pronounced and specifically dated but Dan's spent weeks and weeks playing with this track finding all the possible ways to keep it sounding new. The few times everything drops out and they're left with a new remnant that was hidden underneath everything...they just turn around and tease it to the surface again. Lots of fun with old keyboards and battling rhythms that don't match up for a second to laying on this pile of magic future, funtown disco again.

B-Side "Real Fantasy" is just an electric piano and a single direct voice... still playing with a lot of fun weirdo sounds, coming up with a bassline out of a stuttery low end thump, and looser than the flipside with the vocal messing with a nasaly soul sound. All chopped up and going for a big multilayerd chorus again. These electronics in whatever way they're reassembled sounds completely contemporary, like a rewinding tape recorder in the late '90s. It's gigantically playing with DJ tools and dance culture in an experimental-pop way with a sped up thin acoustic. There isn't a single sound that hasn't been processed into oblivion for the sake of surprising fun. Playing with those clear precise points as much as the broad swaths of hiss, because Dan's not keeping it completely sterile. Like the next one, "Gave Away and Broke" where a hyper rhythm becomes a larger reference point, like a crazy experiment to take an impossible BPM and build anything useable around it. Impenetrably dense, an inconceivable number of hours spent on reverse organs, wah guitar, late night pulg switchery, while staying restrained on vocal it's a headspinning whirl of that mixup ride, the one that keeps spinning faster and you try not to barf holding onto that metal ring in the center.

On cream colored heavyweight vinyl from Gold Robot Records. These were made to be remixed and your wish is granted with the bonus digital only tracks. Check out "Settle Down":

Primary Structures - Self Titled on Gold Robot Records

Hunter over at Gold Robot has again gotten more into the full length arena, making that huge leap onto the bigger 12” vinyl and sent this one in from Primary Structures.

The four piece has evolved out of a couple of San Francisco/Oakland bands; Lady Genius and Volunteer Pioneer, after having met in art school of course, named after an exhibition in 1966 of minimal artists like Donald Judd and Sol Lewitt. I wonder how many spring out of performance art pieces and kill two birds with one stone.
Kyle Williams then, put down the paintbrush and for Primary Structures is on vocals and synth. I have a hard time figuring out how these bouncy indie pop tracks were composed with nothing but his background underpinnings of subtle melody, but then again it mostly comes from his strong vocal direction, which sound like a more balanced Alec Ounsworth from Clap your Hands or a classically trained Jens Lekman...in other words, a real class act. He’s got a slight vibratto to everything, reaching high falsetto notes without the straining work.
The first track on the A-Side, “Jet Set” sets a synth heavy tone that gives way to shiny guitar pop, with an inspired bassline from Brian Caraway that carries this one solidly beyond just being clever and into a real inspired groove. As nervous and claustrophobic sounding the vocals might be when getting into David Byrne paranoia, he stays far more loose and melodic. The kind of pop album that isn’t coming off as too serious, it doesn’t sound like they have an agenda or master plan, it’s just based around poppy sounds at the heart of those summer days in San Francisco.
“The Farm” shows off more of the complex back and forth between Brian and Jason Byers on guitar. Off kilter rhythms working together, but staying completely separate. Brian really knows exactly where to inject bass, it’s never timid and they thankfully let him go nuts with this two note break that steals the track. Matt Stromberg on drums has been playing particularly polyrhythmic patterns and on “Balsa Tree” things get to sounding like the Dodo’s... that nontraditional rock beat of a rim shot stick pattern opposite a complex kick. It doesn’t wear out it’s welcome though, eventually going epic and Kyle takes this one into a sad place which is out of step for this record which most of the time sounds like some kind of celebration.
The last one on this side, “Cannibals”, has Kyle back into that jittery place, going straight for the super pop, only the catchy moments...the way that Dog Day or Ski Lodge aren’t saddled with a massive wave of hype but more concerned with melodies that are going to keep delivering long after this side is over. Clever transcriptions of this melody take it higher up the scale, which Kyle manages to keep up with in his high power vocal. It could almost become one of those old Smiths records to pull out on a Friday night and sing along to.
The more I hear this, the more it starts to slowly sound like Entertainment!’s simple, disarming melodies, with Kyle really selling his vocal instead of the post-modern can’t-be-bothered. I can respect someone who takes their entertaining seriously.

The B-Side with “Land of Terror” is literally bringing a Morrissey vocal to mind. Where does someone get the idea to deliver a vocal like this...to be so emotionally invested, it’s a little bit more naked than something like Johnny Ill Band’s jokes. There’s no tongue in cheek, meta joke here, just solid, straightforward songwriting.
“Bad Krevznacht” is the standout track on this side, a little more rowdy and unpredictable. Kyle’s vocal works differently when paired with this angular rock, he’s got to work a little harder to be heard.
Just like that lens flare on the cover, Primary Structures have managed to capture that right moment, straddling that line of serious, attention to detail, pop while managing to sound like they’re having a good time doing it.

Get this one from Gold Robot Records, a great release...after that whole thing posted by Mike over at Captured Tracks...I know Gold Robot is coming from the same place. It's gone beyond just the format being enough to be outside the taint of commercialism. You need to dig deep into the core philosophy of a label.

Railcars preorder on Gold Robot Records

Hunter at Gold Robot Records sent in a copy of a new single from Railcars which is available now to have a listen to... last time I heard Railcars was on a 12" full length from Stumparumper records, which was an incredibly dense wall of sound with ever rising and fading melodies, this stream of consciousness ambient, packed Eno dream/nightmare.

But this single is a different side of Railcars, featuring two different female vocalists over early tracks and the really interesting part is getting some insight into his live or rehearsal space process, like that Animal Collective Crack Box.
These are extremely raw, and I'm a sucker for demo versions on the seven inch single, it's what they were almost made for. Have another look at a new side of an artist, a place for them to defy their own conventions a bit. This is especially true when reviewing the final result like the Stumparumper full length.
The A-Side, "B's Skeleton" is much more minimal than anything else I've heard from, you get a sense of this tiny physical room on the recording, but also picking out the individual elements of the instrumentation, the array of unique sounds that go in and out with the press of a trigger.
The stuttered cheap drum machine, in an odd formation, along with the organ melody carries this along essentially but Biljana Mirkovski's vocal work has an intensity that comes from being distorted and working in a sort of Portishead sexy whisper. The feedback squeals into the PA and Biljana says, "I'm sorry". Her emotional breathy vocals versus this real exchange between musicians is really interesting. It can all be that much more interesting by subtracting nearly everything but an underwater, distant kettle drum, a kick beat and one organ note. These are great insights into deconstructing Aria's process, the pieces of rhythms that get expanded later, or really taken to this sonic end game he seems to be striving for.
The B-Side "Saints are Waiting" has Dasha Bulatova (I'm starting to wonder if these names aren't part of some kind of pseudonym requirement for being in the band) singing against live drums, and lo-bit synth sounds, but that could be the limitations of the cheap boombox mic in this huge space this time. Again Aria's making full use again of these minimal rhythms and beat patterns. The practice piano on the other side of the room sound brings back those memories of playing alone for a minute when no one else is around to judge.
This track leaves me with a whole lot more respect for Railcars as a grounded melodic act, that full length was almost impenetrably dense, almost overwhelming. It was exciting to pick through the huge pile of sound to find a structure, and it's definitely challenging, but these stripped down live demos are what has sold me on taking quite a few more listens to the longer pieces, hearing the skillful work ethic and raw talent. The compositions and melody, not that it wasn't all there before it's just you wonder a little sometimes how much that aesthetic might be hiding something as much as it's working in entirely new ways

Go preorder this single from Gold Robot Records, even if you're completely unfamiliar with Railcars, it's really experimental and crafty. I respect Aria even more after this quiet, softer, broken down side. Maybe that full length is way beyond what I can even understand, it took this back-in-time demo to catch up.

Ned Oldham - Let's Go Out Tonight on Gold Robot Records's

Hunter is at it again with another single from his Gold Robot label, I've lost track of how many singles he's actually put out this year already...and then this arrives the other day...the first solo release from Ned Oldham. Now when Gold Robot says it's Ned solo, they mean it...completely written,played, and recorded by Ned in Baltimore, MD.

"The One Light"
The very first line about swans making their way before night and just before the moon becomes the one light...it's that kind of imagery that you can't manufacture, it takes a real combination of musician and writer, of which this family has been blessed in spades to not just get away with this but elevate it to something bigger than the sum of it's parts.
It also sounds informed by real folk music, the kind that's passed down, sung at every kind of family get together through generations. Maybe it's the slight echo, it's not hard to imagine some kind of holy place where this song has been performed for years and this just happens to be one of the many interpretations.
It's beautifully recorded acoustic and when he lays on the layers of harmonized vocals with just a few notes of bass it's hard to imagine it getting any better.

"Black Dick Pierce"
The thing is, you catch yourself hearing little familiar phrasings or even lyrics and can't help but wonder about this family...it makes sense they would grow up literally sounding the same but
brothers can be so different. I remember being as surprised seeing Palace or I guess Will Oldham was going on tour with his brothers for the Drag City Review at Tramps in '95. They passed around a bottle of Jack Daniels on stage, and I wished my family played CCR songs on acoustic guitars on my front porch. There's that vulnerability in his voice, like Townes Van Zandt, it comes with an inherent authenticity, and he uses every register to

"If Tomorrow Comes Again"
I love this unexpected bass that's meant for the speaker cone push of vinyl, right there the track takes on an epic feel with just a few notes....you're doing yourself a disservice if you only ever hear this on computer speakers. Ned's got a different vocal quality on this one, it's higher in the mix, a little raspier while the twangy fingerpicked acoustic is joined by harmonica and deeper layers of electric. It's turned all the way up to hear every nuance, and that's where he sucks you in for a heartbreaking finish.

This sleeve art from Kevin Earl Taylor is just twisting the knife in deeper, those hands coming out of the dark water and the swans not knowing any better, living their lives. It feels like people have to destroy everything in their own way. Sometimes you lie in bed at night and if you start to think about all the innocent creatures in the world stuck out in the cold, or in the thunderstorms, no where to go....it just makes you want to cry.

Pressed on dark blue clear vinyl, with digital download code, get it on Gold Robot Records.

This 3 song EP is the first solo release by Ned Oldham. Recorded in Baltimore at the Blue Third Floor and released as a limited edition 7" record on colored vinyl, these are the latest recordings from the ringleader of The Anomoanon and assorted other projects. The EP, titled Let's Go Out Tonight, carries a lot of weight in the 3 songs; though steeped in Americana and folk traditions, the tracks showcase Ned's penchant for bitter/bright lyrics and beautiful compositions.

Tracklist:

A1: Ned Oldham - The One Light [mp3]
A2: Ned Oldham - Black Dick Pierce
B1: Ned Oldham - If Tomorrow Comes Again

Roman Ruins Pastor/al on Gold Robot Records

I actually helped to fund this kickstarter project a while back and it was great to finally get it in the mail. Hunter (from Gold Robot) and Graham (Roman Ruins) collaborated with each other by Hunter sending Graham a painting based on his song and then graham writing a song based on a painting and then vice versa...on for a while I think...
You know Hunter should talk to Bravo about turning this into a 'Next great artist' type of show with teams of artists and musicians collaborating together, you'd have to narrow it down a bit to visual 2D artists maybe, illustrators or something, just to get rid of the weirdo conceptual sculpture. They would get 24 hrs to create an image and then the musicians would have 24 hrs to interpret the work and some jerk useless panel would decide which was the most successful...or have an audience vote, american idol style.

So what does that sleeve image have to do with the music? It looks like this lowly piece of wood is exploding, the layers of rigid technology are covering this natural organic form, and I think there's a lot of that idea going on with these two tracks.

The A-Side, 'Why Party?' is my question exactly. Why do we have to settle for the obvious booming rave track? Can't we have an intelligent slow jam like this? All clear, crisp production, with a nod to past decades, and a nearly Ariel Pink sound...and it sounds the best at 45. When you hear someone really almost showing off with the amount of production, it can be an amazing thing. I know he enjoyed the process of recording it as much as I'm into hearing the channel separation, the out of place sounds. It comes through on these two tracks, every possibility has been explored, all the variations have been worked out. Then there's elements like this organic live bass guitar sound that keep it grounded...they aren't just pressing buttons, the human element is always here, either triggering sounds or traditionally playing the instrument. It's the most successful type of heavily electronic music for me, the kind that isn't tied down to the technology...if it fits, it's in.
This track seems to get more atmospheric as it goes on, losing part of it's core melody..or just not relying on it as much, maybe giving in to a uncontrolled movement for a minute.

The B-Side, 'The Comedown', has a Magnetic Fields sound; the childlike choice of sounds, an unnatural rhythm with weird homemade elements. They always seemed to be pushing sounds like Graham here, always in support of the main composition.Graham is really conscious of creating an entire experience, it sounds impressively in the moment, with the sheer amount of sounds keeping the layers always surprising. That can be an exhausting experience, but there's always with an underpinning of a strong melody. How ever many crazy directions it's going, however ambient the nature of this track, it always involves a complex way of getting there.

You lucky bastards can actually purchase it as Hunter had some copies left over....you're welcome.

Artist: Roman Ruins
Title: PASTOR/AL
Format: 7-inch colored vinyl (opaque orange)
Run: 500
Cover Design: Hunter Mack
Release Date: July 6, 2010

Description:

This record is the result of a collaboration between Roman Ruins (Graham Hill) and the artist Hunter Mack. Originally launched as a Kickstarter project which financed this two-song 7" vinyl record along with a limited art print, it is now available to the general public.

Colossal Yes / The Good Fear on Gold Robot Records

Hunter from Gold Robot was kind enough to send me his latest single in what looks like the beginning of an ongoing split series pairing artists from different geographical regions together. These two, Colossal Yes and The Good Fear couldn't be further apart, from opposite sides of the country in fact.

The Colossal Yes , 'Backbiter Blues' includes member Utrillo Kushner, from Comets on Fire. The Colossal Yes is possibly a full time solo project at this point, it's been a while since CoF released a full length. I'm hearing a piano driven direction and his penchant for a massive epic narrative under the guise of this lazy country inspired number. According to the liner notes it was recorded with a single ribbon mic, and that's a feat in itself really, and it has to be the best way to record this kind of heartfelt blues country, that live feel just adds to the ambiance, if you don't already hear it, it just confirms they solidly can deliver a song. I have to respect abandoning all studio post work entirely, like that painful Will Oldham sound on Arise therefore, if you can pull it off, it really makes a huge difference. So many bands could benefit from this raw feel...then to press it on vinyl and really... you're there. I even get a Songs:Ohia feel on this one... maybe it's the sax solo in the middle, an elevated country style...there's more to them than the guitar twang. You're listening to talented guys in a room, getting live tones from an amp you would die for thinking everything should be recorded like this.

The Good Fear has a B-Side similar tempo track, 'Be Like Us'. Stripped down acoustic with Zack Holland's deep Mark Lannegan cigarette growl. A sustained Rhodes organ wails over barely a beat to keep it decidedly melancholy, but it's not long before they change tempo and flex the entire band into a huge sound, with Zack belting the chorus. I'm starting to second guess if this is even the same voice. That's where they go from somber alt-country to a conducted massive rock sound. In addition to the geographical separation, you've got two very different recording philosophies represented, The Colossal Yes shows off going for a pure sound in a live situation and the Good Fear gets up close and personal building layers of vocals and epic emotional highs with all the precision a multitrack can offer.
Two sides of similar blues country rock, offering entirely different acoustic experiences...both impressive.

Artists: Colossal Yes / The Good Fear
Title: Split Series Entry I
Format: 7-inch colored vinyl (Opaque Gray)
Run: 500
Front Photograph: Elise Irving
Back Photograph: Rett Peek
Inner Label Design: Leandro Castelao
Release Date: July 13, 2010

The first entry in Gold Robot's ongoing split series which pairs artists from different geographic regions together. Featured here are Colossal Yes (Oakland, California) and The Good Fear (Fayetteville, Arkansas). Artwork is provided by photographers from each region (Elise Irving from California, and Rett Peek from Arkansas).

Get it from Gold Robot Records.

Seamonster on Gold Robot Records

This Seamonster single was promised to be amazing by Hunter from Gold Robot and it completely delivers. A white 5 track 33 1/3 mini EP of Adrian Todd Webb' Seamonster project, he looks to be an amazing illustrator as well as musician, which just adds to this layered carnival of sideshow melody.

A-Side, New England combines slightly distorted acoustic guitar with a simple accordion melody and a whirling sounding theremin whistle, I keep almost hearing 'Oh Comely' about to break in.
'Oh Appalachia', takes that Neutral Milk Hotel raw melodic simplicity and adds a Magnetic Fields feel electronic pop complete with canned percussion and layers of melody as pure texture. Layers of emotive vocals, recorded in all kinds of environments plays against this mechanical pop structure and is immediately my favorite. It's swirling catchiness, the sometimes buried vocals are secondary to the hooks of melody they create. Neither of which evoke the Northern East coast necessarily in sound, but in spirit of idiosyncratic folk, the sheer volume of stunningly quiet sounds add up to an impressive cohesive whole.
Bearsuit, the last track features a phasered acoustic and a reverse string melody. It hits it's stride when it goes epic layered fuzz and pounding kick drum, keeping that vocal intimacy and home recorded greatness in the middle of the storm. All I can think of is that documentary about that guy who built the bear proof suit...'Never a man / he was never a man' his single mindedness to create this unconventional way of being protected. The challenge to be safe in the face of all of nature, in a unique kind of science that shouldn't be repeated. Seamonster is quietly piecing all kinds of modern sound into a cozy patchwork quilt of greatness.

The B-Side, 'The Philosophy of Andy Warhol' has more delicate electronics and reverse acoustic, the vocals are more direct on this one, more folk sounding and still somehow optimistic thanks to brief electronic phrases popping up, working with each other in unexpected ways that keep this and the entire EP, surprising in multiple listens.
'Annalee creates an unrecognizable percussion rhythm for all kinds of eclectic instrumentation, harpsichord, xylophone, soprano marching band toms, building into a psyche kind of pop, all recorded perfectly clear, but blending into inseparable haze. Sort of a 'The Charm of the Highway Strip' neo-folk narrative storytelling to keep on repeat.

Complete with a digital download of the EP and 6 bonus tracks! You're going to want to live with this in more than just the record room.

Format: 7-inch colored vinyl (opaque white)
Run: 600
Cover Design: Todd Webb
Release Date: March 2, 2010
Labels: Gold Robot Records (USA), Royal Rhino Flying Records (USA), and Martyrs of Pop (France)

Description:

This mini-album collects songs written and recorded by Adrian Todd Webb and friends in various tucked-away locales across Virginia over the course of three years. “Oh Appalachia,” is a fuzzed out surrealist poem against a backdrop of carnival noise and radio static echoing from the mountains, while “The Philosophy of Andy Warhol” is a gentle electro-pop call to calm based on journal entries of iconic artist Andy Warhol. Instrumental opener “New England” was recorded in a friend’s upstairs sewing room, “Bearsuit” when Webb lived in a laundry room in the slums, while “Annalee,” in which Webb’s vocals glide across churning beds of electro-folk psychedelia, was tracked in a haunted suburban bedroom not far from a giant trampoline.

New Gold Robot kickstarter project and Sea Monster single soon!

Just a quick announcement today, I got an email from Hunter a few days back about this kickstarter project between him and Graham Hill from Roman ruins. Hunter gives Graham a painting to write a song about, then Hunter paints another painting based on that song, they just keep going back and forth forever. If they reach the 2000$ goal they'll be pressing a single from the tracks that are created, plus prints, and even the paintings themselves are up for grabs as part of a pledge.
I wonder how long they are going to go back and forth like that. I love the idea...he's taking the Designed Entropy series to another level, instead of the tracks being based off a book, he's getting directly involved in the music process, creating something completely unique to the single that's going to be produced. It's more than just supporting an artist and putting the vinyl behind it. I'm sincerely hoping they can pull this off with two more months to go.
Plus in the same email is news that the Seamonster single we briefly talked in a 7Inches podcast is about to hit the shelves shortly, the tracks on his myspace all have a real homemade layers of weirdness sound, with his Jeff Magnum sounding vocals at times... that aesthetic even, it's a little demented carnival, experimental folksongs that balance the melancholy with melody. One track 'Oh Appalachia' is available from the Gold Robot here.

Hunter says:

1... We've just launched our first Kickstarter project. It's a collaboration between the musician Roman Ruins (Graham Hill) and the artist Hunter Mack (that's me, incidentally). We're raising funds to produce a 7" EP and an archival art print at the end of the collaboration. Check out the details and support the project here.

2... Only a couple more days left to pre-order the new t-shirts, created by the illustrious Doe Eyed Design. It's only $12 plus shipping right now, which is insanely cheap. Thanks to those who've already ordered theirs, we should be shipping them in a couple weeks. Choose your size and color here.

3... The next release will be a 7" EP by Seamonster, and we couldn't be more excited. It's really a beautiful package. We will be offering instant digital downloads of the album plus a ton of extras (b-sides, covers, remixes) for all pre-orders once it's launched in the next two weeks. I'll get back to you with further details then. Relevant information and a free MP3 (first time available anywhere) here.

Panther - How well can you swim on Gold Robot Records

Here's another one from Gold Robot, from Panther who is Charlie Salas...a weird mix of electronica and what I think is just plain soul. The sleeve is a disco ball grenade pencil drawing...which completes this picture perfectly. A handdrawn image of a discoball, an object that is the very symbol for fake to draw you in, but it's a grenade. Panther and the beat just got you.

The Portland Mercury did a piece on his guerilla style park concerts of 'R&B singing over techno', which first made me kind of reconsider this single. On one hand he's really so committed to this style I know it's not a joke, but at the same time, too much of this might be lost in just hearing it.
How well can you swim is a catchy track with a just off the rhythm beat, layers and layers of falsetto harmonies sounding a bit like TV on the Radio, there might be some slight effects, or it's all in the layering here, the emphasis is on the over-emotive vocals. Especially on the 2nd track on the A-Side, 'Burning'. It's experimental no time beat for a while singing in layered falsetto harmonies over the free form percussion and synth.

The B-Side has an 'alternate version of How well can you swim, and I have to say even with y aversion to remixes on the B-Side's from bands you're friends with, this is perfectly fine for me. You came up with an alternate version, then I gladly want to listen to it. Too many time remixes are created in an afternoon, trying to stay as far away from the original as possible. How much of myself can I jam into the recording, or how many signature sounds can I use.
This version sounds a lot more raw, the whole thing covered by there's a completely different more drawn out vocal. There's a great moment where it stops in it's tracks for a mess of guitar feedback.
Tennis Lesson, is another free form layered it might as well be a capella weirdness. There has to be at least 4 vocals all trying to pull off '...a tennis lesson of love baby' all a little off from each other. The multiple takes of trying to keep up with the last vocal.

What can I say, this is not like anything I've heard lately.

Sadly just found out (back in Dec - ed) thanks to the Portland Mercury, Panther is no longer.

Panther is Charlie Salas, and Charlie Salas is Panther. A rare talent whose brand of music is oft-described as dance, sometimes as electronic, and just as often some sort of soul. While the fame afforded by his energetic live shows often precedes him, the tracks on this single persevere on their own.

Podcast Interview with Hunter from Gold Robot Records

Talked with Hunter this past week about his label, Gold Robot Records. Just reviewed a bunch of great singles he sent me from his Oakland, CA based label.
In the podcast we talked about how the label started, the Designed Entropy 7" series, future projects and the infamous Bonnie Prince Billy single...it's an amazing story, download it here (30mb) or listen on the streaming player on the lower right.

Some of the music featured on the podcast is from the Gold Robot sampler Vol. 1 which can be downloaded in it's entirety here.

Roman Ruins on Gold Robot Records

Back from the holidays...the insane snowy weather delayed 7Inches for a day... but safely back in NYC I reached back into the review pile to pick up where I left off with Gold Robot Records and their first release back in Feb '07 from Roman Ruins aka Graham Hill. Also from the Oakland area, I think I mentioned previously on that 4 way split on GRR that he also provides percussion for The Parish, Beach House and I even read Brightblack Morning Light.

That dreamy laid back sound of Beach House is every different from this laptop solo project on this vinyl release. The A-Side 'Releasing Me' is an upbeat electronic layered pop song essentially. A carefully crafted concerned-with-minutiae pop song. More than just an experiment, it sounds like Graham is in love with the process of recording...taking all these disparate elements, acoustic, synth, distinct electronics, and weaving them together for just a moment, building a melody for a measure and then mixing it up again. A game of adding and subtracting. A challenge to himself every note, to see if that unusual sound can work for just a second. It's not nearly enough to write a song that sounds good...it's going to hold up to repeated listens just for the amount of tinkering involved all built on a base of minimal dense drum machine claps and high hat.
It's an interesting choice coming from a drummer, and I'm starting to think I hear live drum sounds coming and going...it wouldn't surprise me if there was a subtle back and forth between the human and machine percussion. That would be exactly the kind of thing I would expect he's doing and I don't even realize it. Vocally it's just as complex, layers of verses, back and forth, on top of each other in the chorus, sounding a bit like Why? at times. That experimental let's see how many chord/time changes I can mash into a few brief minutes all while keeping the melody humming.
The B-Side 'Your House'. A minimal opening of guitars and layered vocals are where you get a sense of his pure songwriting skills, but he's been waiting to hit you with the definitely machine sounding percussion from an old electronic organ preset button. Only after the fact I can say he's really been holding back on this one to build the layers of percussion straight to a massive finish. When they all come in, it sounds like a completely different track. You can literally hear the separation, he's been messing with me the whole time. It's the back and forth between the programmed and improvisation that is Grahams strength, combined with an endlessly complex arrangement that makes this a standout for solo 4-track bedroom projects.

Get it from Gold Robot, who just announced a bunch of Railcars remixes yesterday which I have to get. That reminds me of Stumparumpers Cathedral with no eyes full length review I have to finish up. That was played and loved by the office holiday party.

The Parish - Storm Driven Bird EP on Gold Robot Records

Here's another one from Gold Robot this morning, from a band, The Parish, which are based out of Oakland, CA and sport some decidedly smooth-- a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll tracks on this 4 song EP.
Like the sleeve, it's the sound of lazy fishin' and throwing the catch in the back of your old Toyota...take a double exposed Polaroid and stick it on the fridge...it's just one of those perfect days.
The first track 'Through the boughs' has high falsetto layered vocal harmonies from guitarists Andy and Zac, who also split the songwriting on the single. Graham, from the Roman Ruins single yesterday plays drums...virtually everyone in the band has vocal credits listed and when Kim on the organ chimes in for the choruses, it makes that huge religious sound complete.
Excellently recorded and mixed, everything is cleanly separated and punchy, from the bright tremolo guitar to the bass organ melodies.
'Humboldt County Line' is another huge sing a long, maybe it's that Hammond organ that's making me think of Elvis Costello, minus his vocals of course, throw in a hint of a sunnier Wilco.
'Wishbook' on the B-Side uses a waltz off-beat sparingly along with slide guitar for this brief little faraway number. It's probably so they can take their time with Dummy in Trouble's rolling bassline and organ and blow out finish. It's a somber not so much sad as just reflecting. The slide is back again on this one and when it fades out, it's not over...it's just beginning to take off.

Nicely done solid alt-country from The Parish

From Gold Robot Records:

A1 - Through the Boughs
A2 - Humboldt County Line
B1 - Wishbook
B2 - Dummy in Trouble [mp3]

From Amelia Raitt of eMusic: "Oakland group The Parish revels in the sound of sunshine, pairing bright, breezy harmonies with loose guitar jangle. The Parish blend hundreds of disparate influences: there are hints of early REM, a little bit of Muswell-era Kinks, even a little bit of Creedence. "Dummy in Trouble" slows the whole formula down to a kind of sluggish crawl, a late-summer haze that creeps and expands. This brief glimpse of the group's sunshine sound is the ideal tonic for winter afternoons.

Designed Entropy on Gold Robot Records

Hunter from Gold Robot Records was kind enough to send along some of his latest 7" releases of this past year, which I'll be getting to in the next few days/weeks....it was a lot. He currently has a Railcars single still available, and a European tour 12"just finished, and it looks amazing...I'm working on a review of the Railcars full length from Stumparumper and have to pick up a copy of this single from GRR. Randomly I picked up the Bonnie Prince Billy single he put out a while back and it's amazing...it will be grabbed if this place ever goes up in flames.

So I started with this interesting looking 4 way split from a bunch of artists I have no previous experience with....which made this an obvious choice. That's the beauty of these little pieces of vinyl, they free the wallet up just a little for some experimentation.
The sleeve even delivers on the entropy promise with the opening for the record being 180 degrees from where you think it should be, and then the back image is counterclockwise from there...controlled chaos.
The first track from Bomarr 'Exchanges among systems' takes a page from Kraftwerk's pure analogue synth sounds that reproduce great on vinyl. There's nothing like being in the middle of nowhere with a copy of Transeurope Express played as loud as possible...it's a life changing experience. A slow, cool calculated track based around variations of simple ancient drum machine patterns with plodding sustained synth...in it's purest form... the foundation. Alien.
Copy's up next with 'Karate eyes', a pure dance driven catchy as heck instrumental track coming from a place closer to this decade. You'd think one great melody would be enough, but they keep building on one another, and dropping out, swapping basslines for leads...it could go on a lot longer in it's pure optimism. It's impossible to fault the pure craftsmanship of the otherwise common elements.
But sooner or later you have to flip this over to check out Meanest Man Contest's Takitani Edit. MMC has a 7" of their own on GRR, which I recognized up next. It's a subtle arrangement of live samples...piano, kettle drums...all those eclectic one note foreign percussion sounds. They're all pulled from the closet to provide their own weird rhythm for some Xiu Xiu sounding vocals.
There's a great sample of what I'm pretty sure is William Burroughs talking about the 'inevitable rat race'...classic.
Roman Ruins (who it happens, plays with Beach House) rounds the disc out with another pretty optimistic sounding electronic based track 'Plea for Permanence'...(a great title against the band name), the sunny electronics joined by acoustic guitar slowly make their way to meet a Menomena sounding huge room drum kit beat deliberately mic'd close and loud which elevates this another floor or two, if it wasn't high enough already.
It's a satisfying peek into 4 electronic artists brought together by GRR in an exploration of music's various architecture.

Tracklist:
A1 : Bomarr - Exchanges Among Systems
A2 : Copy - Karate Eyes
B1 : Meanest Man Contest - Takitani Edit
B2 : Roman Ruins - Plea For Permanence

All pressed on opaque goldish, swirly vinyl. Nice.

Gold Robot says:

The first entry in the Designed Entropy series features exclusive tracks by 4 different artists inspired from a common starting point. As a cohesive unit, this EP explores the relationship between design, structure, and humanity. Suggested reading to accompany the listening experience: "Atlas of Novel Tectonics" by Jesse Reiser.

Railcars on Gold Robot records - Full length from Stumparumper

Gold robot records, who released that ultra limited Bonnie Prince Billy has this released this pop-chaos single from Railcars. I'm loving that this is a mini Ep of 5 songs, the recording quality...it's highly produced, clean sounding bursts of really insane compositions...that come together as short little beauties.
His voice is sometimes all far away distorted, he's goes from that Xiu Xiu emotion, that bare crying vocal to quiet whispering in 'Bohemia is without a sea', where the percussion track is amazing. It changes sounds every measure, forced through effects, of rhythm...crazy.
As much as I'm hearing that XX influence, (he produced it by the way), It's very Handsome Furs at least I'm hearing it in 'There is ice; it is blue'. The direct driving use of mechanical sounding drums, using all this technology and manipulation in a really up front way, nothing is trying to sound like anything it's not. It's the best kind of electronics, out in the open, it's not imitating anything, it's barely working with things you recognize at all. It's dirty, glitchy, overdriven...and I really believe that's where those moments of genius happen. Railcars is orchestrating the whole thing, but you can't control some of these sounds and when the layers fuse together....well.... it's perfection.
I can't help but appreciate the complexity of this, where you would approach putting this together...if this happened in an afternoon, then half the bands out there should just give up.

Sunset Rubdown also comes to mind also, but this is poppier, catchier...there's nothing introspective or quiet about any of these tracks, they are trying to overwhelm you... and it's working.
I've been listening to this all morning trying to hear all the parts...to get a handle on just a tiny part of the instrumentation. It's such an impossible to pin down melting pot, how can this come together and sound so great?

From Railcars:

Aria Jalali's experimental pop/art rock project, RAILCARS, based in san francisco, is now putting the final touches on a new album that will be released on super thick 12" vinyl record (pressing of 1000) through Stumparumper Records on august 4th, as well as online, via itunes etc.

The album is the wildly anticipated follow up to last years "Cities Vs Submarines EP" which was produced by Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart.

No podcast this week, instead you can download this EP 7" Aria has so kindly offered to make available...definitely go buy it though. Consider this a backup in case this has sold out...it definitely will.

Buy the 7" at Gold Robot who says:

Artist: Railcars
Title: Cities vs Submarines
Format: 7-inch heavyweight 70g vinyl
Run: 500
Cover Art: Claudia O'Steen
Release: September 2008

Tracklist:
A1 - There Is Ice; It Is Blue [mp3]
A2 - Saints Are Waiting For Me, Outside My Door
B1 - Concrete Buildings
B2 - Through The Trees Lay Smokestacks
B3 - Bohemia Is Without A Sea

Recorded in the kitchen of Xiu Xiu frontman Jamie Stewart, cities vs submarines is a ten minute journey into Aria Jalali's most vivid, reoccurring dreams. Railcars is an attempt to bring the images that have haunted Aria's mind to life using drum boxes, synths, and noise pedals with sentiments recreated in lyrical form.

The current four member lineup for railcars' live performances was established by Jalali when asked to play some shows with Handsome Furs in April 2008, however Aria Jalali has also performed railcars sets by himself, with only a laptop, guitar and pedal effects.

I also just found another one of his singles the 'Postmodern EP' on Filthy Little Angels, but it's import only and will set you back 6 pounds, but I'm seriously considering it.

Don't forget a full length 12" is coming out on Stumparumper any day now...can't wait for that.