Warning: this is not a countdown. Not a Top 20.

 tētēma – Geocidal

Artists:Mike Patton, Anthony Pateras 

 Artwork: Nik Kamvissis

Genre: avant-garde, experimental

“Even when immobile, we are in motion.” (tētēma - tenz)

 What makes Patton’s recordings so Mike Patton-like? A certain level of high tonality, a sophisticated mixture of noise and harmony, all kind of esoteric, world music and tribal riff combined with heavy metal, plus the madness of the vocal parts. And the teams-up he does with other magnificent musicians.

tētēma – his latest project with the Australian composer and pianist Anthony Pateras – makes no exception. Their debut LP Geocidal was released on December 9 via, of course, Ipecac Recordings.

The story of the record as told by Pateras:

“Geocidal started when I locked myself in a convent in rural France for 10 days to think about rhythm and sound.” “I then went to Paris to record the drums and prepared piano with Will Guthrie…that was the first thing to go down, then all kinds of analogue electronics, followed by orchestrations including strings, winds, brass and orchestral percussion.” The vocals were recorded then in San Francisco with Patton. “We had the craziest 48 hours together, and somewhere in between finishing each other’s thoughts, it became apparent to us that this music was going to be very, very special.”

YOUTUBE

The video was first shot digitally, then transferred to 16mm film, and then transferred back to digital. Directed by Sabina Maselli.

tracklist

Invocation of the Swarm

Pure War

Irundi

The Hell of Now

Ten Years Tricked

3-2-1 Civilisation

Tenz

Suishaman

Kid Has Got the Bomb

Emptiness of Ecstacy

Death in Tangiers

MORE INFO:

Ipecac Recordings - http://ipecac.com/artists/tetema

    "so stop like-ing cat jpegs, stop drooling into your phone and listen to

    this freaking record - it will literally re-wire your existing perception of

    sonic possibility, although that's probably underselling it."

Anthony Pateras - http://anthonypateras.com/blog/

Warning: this is not a countdown. Not a Top 20.

Reptile Youth - Rivers That Run for a Sea That Is Gone

New band in town, but nevertheless not that new. Reptile Youth is a band from Copenhagen, they formed in 2009 and this is their second album. 'Rivers that run for a sea that is gone' was preceded and followed by plenty of shows around Europe in more than ten countries. A duo, Mads Damsgaard Kristiansen (vocals, keyboards) and Esben Valløe (bass), which teams up with other members to perform their songs live.

Heavy ultra-disco sound, the 80s revival with controversial videos and artwork, they smartly blend everything you can think of in terms of disco music to make their own provocative sound. Live, they're a delight.

 Streaming:

http://albumstreams.com/s/reptile-youth/rivers-that-run-for-a-sea-that-i...

Tracklist

Above

Colours

Rivers That Run for a Sea That Is Gone

Structures

Where You End I Begin

We're All In Here

Two Hearts

Jj

All of the Noise

Diseased By Desire

Warning: this is not a countdown. Not a Top 20.

 Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra - Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything

 Genre: Experimental

 At the beginning of this year in January, Efrim Menuck released his seventh album with Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra.

Under a title that expresses at the same time anger (Fuck off, get free) and optimism (we pour light on everything), six tracks to back up a statement given in an earlier interview: ‘Rage is a good source of hope.’ An insightful album on fighting the darkness without even mentioning it, a record full of metaphors and stories about overcome abandons, desperation and dealing with frustration and pain.

An artistic endeavor, nevertheless personal. The album opens with what Efrim’s four-year-old son, Ezra is telling us: ‘We live on the island called Montreal, and we make a lot of noise because we love each other.’  And ends with a testimony on music: ‘Tout ce qu’on peut dire c’est que la musique c’est vraiment une façon de vivre et pas quelque chose qu’on fait pendant le week-end. It’s what you are, it’s how you live, it’s the things that you do.’

Track listing

‘Fuck Off Get Free (For the Island of Montreal)’ – 10:22

‘Austerity Blues’ – 14:17

‘Take Away These Early Grave Blues’ – 6:47

‘Little Ones Run’ – 2:29

‘What We Loved Was Not Enough’ – 11:22

‘Rains Thru the Roof at Thee Grande Ballroom (For Capital Steez)’ – 3:57

 Personnel

Thierry Amar: Upright bass, electric bass, plucked piano, vocals

Efrim Menuck: Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mellotron, vocals

Jessica Moss: Violin, plucked piano, vocals

Sophie Trudeau: Violin, plucked piano, vocals

David Payant: Drums, organ, vocals

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra toured to support the new album in February and they were present in Brussels in Botanique. This year, Efrim Menuck will come back, this time with Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Concert review: Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Eric Chenaux @Botanique Orangerie, Brussels – 27 February 2014

Warning: this is not a countdown. Not a Top 20.

Wovenhand - Refractory Obdurate

 Genre: Dark Americana, Alternative country

Anyone once enchanted by the dark magnetism of 16 Horsepower has at least the curiosity to see what’s next in the world of David Eugene Edwards, no matter if he had switched the sound to something heavier in between.

The religious content is a constant but what he offers on Refractory Obdurate is not a sermon. The title juxtaposes two words which both stand for the word obstinate. It is a work full of personal turmoil and relentless search, a state neighboring a continuous fight between truth and doubt, an open list of unanswered questions. The passion coming out from the record is so strong, dark and agitated that it makes one feels uneasy. Could it be because behind the biblical myths may be hidden metaphors which still cast their terror on the day-to-day life?

Track listing

"Corsicana Clip" – 4:47

"Masonic Youth" – 3:39

"The Refractory" – 4:53

"Good Shepherd" – 4:00

"Salome" – 5:19

"King David" – 4:47

"Field of Hedon" – 3:33

"Obdurate Obscura" (Edwards, Chuck French) – 5:20

"Hiss" – 3:53

"El-Bow" (Edwards, French, Ordy Garrison, Neil Keener) – 2:42

All songs written by David Eugene Edwards, except where noted.

 Concert review: Wovenhand & Flying Horseman @ AB Brussels - 6 June 2014

Concert Monkey

Keys and Chords

Le Blog des critiques de concerts

ALiveReport

Warning: this is not a countdown. Not a Top 20.

Pink Floyd - The Endless River

 A recent video overtook all possible reviews to this album and make my own superflous. It’s an interview with David Gilmour and Nick Mason talking about the album, its concept, Rick Wright’s contribution and more. Just some insights here but you can watch the noteworthy 9 minutes of the video below.

The Endless River is the first album in 20 years, after The Division Bell and it’s the first album since Richard Wright passed away. It mostly contains material composed during the session of The Division Bells which was mostly recorded in 1993. The plan at that time was to make The Division Bell a double album, half of it with songs and half more ambiental, but the purely instrumental passages remained used.

More on the concept behind and why this is going to be the last Pink Floyd album:

Pink Floyd - Exclusive Amazon Q & A. David and Nick answer questions on ‘The Endless River"

Tracklist:

1.     Things Left Unsaid     David Gilmour, Wright     4:26

2.     It's What We Do     Gilmour, Wright     6:15

3.     Ebb and Flow     Gilmour, Wright     1:52

4.     Sum     Gilmour, Nick Mason, Wright     4:50

5.     Skins     Gilmour, Mason, Wright     2:32

6.     Unsung     Wright     1:06

7.     Anisina     Gilmour     3:10

8.     The Lost Art of Conversation     Wright     1:43

9.     On Noodle Street     Gilmour, Wright     1:42

10.     Night Light     Gilmour, Wright     1:42

11.     Allons-y (1)     Gilmour     1:56

12.     Autumn '68     Wright     1:37

13.     Allons-y (2)     Gilmour     1:35

14.     Talkin Hawkin'     Gilmour, Wright     3:26

15.     Calling     Gilmour, Anthony Moore     3:38

16.     Eyes to Pearls     Gilmour     1:52

17.     Surfacing     Gilmour     2:47

18.     Louder Than Words     Gilmour, Polly Samson     6:25