Digging Up Treasure: Deer Tick

”Digging Up Treasure” is the name of a new segment that will allow me to bubble over with the joy of finding a relatively unknown and very exciting new band. The title of the segment becomes even more clever when you realize that it’s underground music I’m talking about. Digging? Underground? Treasure? Get it? Okay, that’s enough.

Hailing from Providence, Rhode Island, Deer Tick is the brainchild of singer/songwriter John McCauley, rounded out by drummer Dennis Ryan and bassist Chris Ryan. Their debut album, War Elephant came out a couple weeks ago, released on FEOW Records. In the three weeks since then, I’ve scarcely been able to go a day without spinning at least a track or two; theirs is the kind of music that’s difficult to get out of your head—and not in the “I have this song stuck in my head” sort of way. It’s the kind of immediate, intelligent music that makes you wonder, when compared to McCauley, how terribly inadequate you are at expressing yourself, and how damn alive you feel in his presence.

McCauley’s expressiveness is, after all, Deer Tick’s defining characteristic. Dude’s got a voice like sandpaper and he doesn’t hesitate for a moment before rubbing it all over your face. And with a presence that’s so very… well, present, lines like “I’m caught in a whirlwind / I’m going to heaven / I’m standing on trial / and it’s painted on canvas / an eternal testament to how we are so animalistic” adopt an emotional weight that’s impossible to ignore. McCauley’s tortured performance on the epic “Christ Jesus” is the alt-country aspiration to Jeff Mangum’s impossibly high In the Aeroplane standard.

The music on which this remarkable expression rests is strong, often embracing that unstoppable alt-county sense of movement that makes it perfect for long drives and deep thoughts while at the same time using that forward motion to keep it from overwhelming or stagnating. But, within these bounds, the music boasts quite a range, from the road-trip shuffle of “Art Isn’t Real (City of Sin)” to the Neil Young-infused “Standing at the Threshold” to the subtle reggae of “Baltimore Blues No. 1”.

The song’s closing track (“What Kind of Fool Am I?”) is the oddest of the bunch, a down-tempo fifties pop number that you could easily imagine reworked by Phil Spector. It witnesses McCauley’s apparent inability to fall in love, his desire to abandon all things cerebral and become the kind of fool that is capable of such an irrational sentiment. But it’s exactly that kind of thought and analysis that prevents him from becoming that fool and what, in the end, makes this album so interesting. What McCauley has painted is a picture of a world totally aware of its own foolishness and the conflict that arises when presented with the choice to remain blissfully ignorant or to face the truth, however harsh it may be.


Download:
Deer Tick - Standing at the Threshold [mp3]
Deer Tick - These Old Shoes [mp3]
Deer Tick - Christ Jesus [mp3]



War Elephant is available now from FEOW Records.

This is Japanese Pysch! Part II

Here it is, the second part of my intro to quality Japanese psych—the artists in this part are generally a little less eccentric than the previous, so if the first set was too much for you to handle, definitely give these a try. As always there are mp3s to download at the end of the post, so be sure to check those out. Also, if I missed an artist you think belongs on this list (which I’m sure I did, I’m no expert), shoot me an email or leave me a comment! There’s no reason there shouldn’t be a Part III. In fact, I want there to be! Anyway, enjoy the delicious psychedelic ear food from Japan.


Hisato Higuchi
Listening to Hisato Higuchi is like being young again, struggling to stay awake while you wait for your mom to tuck you in and kiss you goodnight. Higuchi was originally a puppeteer, and while the transition from puppeteer to musician doesn’t make total sense, the way his former profession appears in his music certainly does. He works his guitar strings with a delicacy normally reserved for marionettes and the result is a collection of songs almost entirely devoted to subtlety and the beautiful moments that can be born of a single note piercing the silence.

Best Starting Point: Dialogue (2006)

This is a short album—only 35 minutes long—comprised almost entirely of fragile guitar parts, all of them beautiful and quietly powerful. There are moments, however, when Higuchi’s crooning vocals or some alien feedback enter the mix and the resulting juxtaposition is phenomenal. Though this album certainly has a time and a place, when approached with the right mindset (mellow, pensive, observant, even spiritual) this is an enormously rewarding listen. Minimal and ethereal.


OOIOO
OOIOO is, of course, the all-female group founded by Yoshimi P-We, who is also a member of Boredoms. Over the past twelve years, the girls have released five full-length albums. Their sound is totally unique, characterized mainly by heavy percussion, shouting vocals (but not quite cheerleader-esque), and a foundation in repetition. They also incorporate elements of jazz, some experimental noises probably related to Boredoms, and at times world music beats. Due in large part to the percussion, the music of OOIOO has a lot of energy, always propelling itself forward and keeping the listener engaged.

Best Starting Point: Taiga (2006)

This is the group’s most recent album and arguably their best. Taiga witnesses OOIOO really hitting their stride, combining rich and interesting percussion with a multitude of creative ideas and dynamic styles. The album opens with “UMA”, a tour-de-force of shouts and heavy drum hits, and an hour later, has ventured into jazz, noise, Afrobeat, and dance rock territories. This album is like nothing you’ve ever heard, a collection of tracks from a group that has almost too many ideas for its own good.


Boris
Now, I realize that Boris isn’t a “psych” band and that they’ve spent much more of the last fifteen years in the noise rock and sludge rock arenas by comparison, but their ventures into psychedelic territory along with how damn good they are make them a band I can’t afford to overlook. Boris is a simple, three-piece band and, for a band with a static lineup, one of Japan’s most prolific groups. In the past they’ve worked with the likes of Keiji Haino, noise god Merzbow, and doom rockers Sunn O))). Their last two U.S. releases, Pink and Rainbow (with Ghost’s Michio Kurihara) have been their most accessible to date and the latter embraces that psych element I mentioned previously. Boris’ music is generally very well-crafted and beautifully layered; though prolific they may be, you can tell they put a lot of time and energy into their releases. Pink, which is more of a hardcore/shoegaze album, was the first of their albums to really catch the attention of the American indie crowd. Their earlier releases were a little more chaotic (and in some cases, borderline unlistenable) but Boris’ latest endeavors has the band constantly forging new and exciting paths.

Best Starting Point: Pink (2006)

I was sold on Pink by the end of the album’s title track, which is only the second on the album. It’s something like the aural equivalent of a city perishing in flame. The energy level is consistently high—even Wata’s guitar picking during quieter parts sound with the same joie-de-vivre as the album’s gnarliest riffs. The greater variety of songs and increased breathing room also allows Takeshi to deliver some of his finest and most soulful vocals to date. This is music like the sun is a lamp.


Rashinban
Rashinban is one of the many side-projects of ex-Boredoms member Yamamoto Seiichi, who is easily among the most prolific artists in Japan. According to Ghost’s Masaki Batoh, Rashinban is the only band in Japan other than Acid Mothers Temple he can really get behind. The group’s releases are extremely hard to find, however, as most (maybe none, I'm not sure) of their releases haven't made their way to the U.S. Rashinban’s music is slightly more conventional than many of the other bands I’ve been discussing, embracing a predominately sixties-pop style with sunny vocals and an emphasis on the organ. Their songs are seamless, the work of a group that knows the kind of music it wants to make and is damn good at making it.

Best Starting Point: Hajimari (2002)

I recommend this album because it’s the only one I could get my hands on, and thus the only one I can recommend with confidence. That said, it’s still great and I can only assume Rashinban's other releases are just as good. The first time I heard it I was driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco and I remember that the hour-long album went by in no time at all—not because it wasn’t memorable, but because its such a breeze of a listen. It’s light and fluffy, like pancakes of rock.


Yura Yura Teikoku
I actually discovered this band through Raven Sings the Blues, one of my new favorite blogs. Though they’ve been together since 1989, it wasn’t until 2005 that they played a show outside of Japan. This is a pretty good example of the limited exposure YYT has gotten in the U.S., and why so few have heard of them. Their sound is a combination of garage rock and psych rock, with a nice side of pop sensibilities and noise accents. Over the years they’ve eschewed their more chaotic tendencies and focused more on song craft, but the band’s past wildness is still present; the result is an extremely well-balanced and dynamic sound, as weird as it is fun.

Best Starting Point: Sweet Spot (2006)

This is YYT’s most recent release and, from what I’ve heard, one of its best. There’s a wide range of songs, from scatterbrained pop gems in the headspace of the Zutons to mellow psych that’s got a hint of Pink Floyd in its bones. Every track has a character of its own, each embracing a different style and tempo that keeps the whole album interesting. And while it may not be better than the sum of its parts, damn are its parts something.


Download:
Hisato Higuchi - Kizuato [mp3]
OOIOO - UMO [mp3]
Boris - Pink [mp3]
Rashinban - Fire Song [mp3]
Yura Yura Teikoku - ソフトに死んでいる [mp3]

- Dominick Duhamel -

This is Japanese Pysch! Part I

As many of you probably know, at the moment I’m almost totally immersed in a Japanese psychedelic phase. In my experience, there are very few other scenes that have such a vitality and truth about their music; to be honest, the identity and creativity found in Japanese psych is a breath of fresh air when considering how many bands these days lack true originality. And, since the genre has so much to offer and so few people know about it, I thought I’d do a brief run-through of some of the more notable bands, along with recommended albums and free mp3s to download (which can be found at the bottom of the post). Part II should be coming within the next few days. I strongly encourage you to check all the following artists out; some of them have almost totally changed my perception of music—in a good way, of course.


Ghost
This band is awesome for so many reasons. So many, in fact, that I think I’m just going to have to put them in list form:
1. One of their members is a Buddhist monk.
2. Though they’ve only released seven proper albums, they’ve been around since 1984.
3. They’ve refused to play in the U.S. until the Bush Administration is out of office.
4. Masaki Batoh, the band’s de facto leader, is concerned almost exclusively with the moment organic, improvised music is formed rather than recording or touring.
5. The mind-blowing guitar work of Michio Kurihara, who appeared on the most recent Boris album and used to be in White Heaven. This man is one of maybe five people I would consider guitar gods, and this is coming from a guitar player.
6. The sheer number of instruments the band plays, which includes the hurdy gurdy, flute, tabla, ryu, sitar, vacuum pipes, banjo, timpani, and the list goes on.
7. They live a largely nomadic lifestyle.
8. Their choice of venues is impeccable. In their earlier days they would play at random in subways and parks. Many of their shows have taken place in temples, which is absolutely gorgeous and moving to watch.
9. Their recently released live DVD, Metamorphosis. If that doesn’t inspire you to play music, there’s something wrong with you.

Best Starting Point: Lama Rabi Rabi (1996)

This album is among Ghost’s more tribal and psychedelic (which I believe to be their greatest incarnation) rather than folk or rock-based. It opens with an incredible one-two punch, the slowly evolving atmosphere of “Masttillah” followed by the ferocious “Rabirabi”. This is music that transports you, that can provide an out-of-body experience when approached with the right attitude. Also highly recommended is the album Temple Stone (1997). But to be honest the best starting point is probably their live DVD.


Acid Mothers Temple
The Acid Mothers “Soul Collective” really has no definite lineup and has performed and released albums under dozens of different names since it’s origin in 1997, the most famous being Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. and Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno. The Acid Mothers collective puts out anywhere from two to five albums a year, due mainly to their shifting lineup and the spirit of improvisation present on most of their albums. The collective’s most consistent member is Kawabata Makoto, who is one of the other very few musicians I would consider to be a guitar god. Thanks to his presence, many of their tracks are essentially lengthy guitar jams, but free of all the nasty connotations of jam-heavy songs. Makoto and his bandmates essentially believe it’s possible to communicate with the cosmos via their music, a sentiment that is quite present when listening. Like the music of Ghost, the music of AMT is meant to bring a musician or listener beyond the accepted limits of his or her soul or being. Some AMT albums are simply one hour-long song with several movements, but despite their tendency toward longer songs, there is never a moment that the music becomes stale or dull. The music of AMT is alive in the very truest sense.

Best Starting Point: Univers Zen ou de Zero à Zero (2002)

My first full listen to this album was one of the most eye-opening experiences I’ve had with music in the last few years. This album has it all—the insane guitar-based jams of “Electric Love Machine” and “Blues Pour Bible Noire”, the absolutely gorgeous ballad “Ange Mecanique de Saturne” and the odd but charming vocal manipulation track “God Bless AMT”. The veins of this album run thick with energy and light. This year’s Crystal Rainbow Pyramid Under the Stars is also very worth checking out.


Boredoms
Who can even approach Japanese psych or underground music without bringing up the Boredoms? The Boredoms, who first appeared in 1986, are a Japanese weird-rock institution and one well-worthy of its reputation. Yamantaka Eye is generally considered the band’s leader. Also frequently present is Yoshimi P-We, who plays drums, trumpet, and sings. The Boredoms’ style jumps distractedly from noise rock to electronica to minimalism to tribal psychedlia with barely an effort, and each incarnation is just as rewarding as the last. But these are all united by a single, cohesive Boredoms aesthetic; and while it’s difficult to put a finger on, it has a lot to do with a total disregard for the public’s expectations, a high level of invention and innovation, and a good deal of post-production. My friend Matt once said the most interesting thing about the Boredoms is that it seems like they don’t want you to listen to them, but that you do anyway, as if listening to the Boredoms is a sort of musical masochism. A beautiful, beautiful sort of musical masochism.

Best Starting Point: Super Ae (1998)

This album is a microcosm of the greater Boredoms aesthetic, and the release on which this aesthetic is most fully realized. Sludgy guitar interludes interrupt chant breakdowns, the whole tempo speeds and slows at random, voices growl from all directions, and synths chirp like songbirds at sunrise. The album remains accessible, however, and they avoid weirdness for the sake of being weird. It’s a painstaking effort disguised as a beautiful mess, and a hell of an aural journey.


Fushitsusha/Keiji Haino
Keiji Haino is an absolute monster of the Japanese psychedelic and avant-garde scene. Fushitusha was essentially Haino and whatever other musicians happened to be around. The band formed in 1978, though it wasn’t until 1989 that they released a full album. Most of their music characterized by Haino’s brilliant and tormented guitar playing, which is sometimes violent and impulsive, sometimes beautiful and submissive. His vocals share many of the same characteristics as his guitar playing, unafraid to embrace bare emotion and record it with the utmost honesty. Fushitsusha has been on hiatus since 2001, but Haino continues to be prolific in his own right, recently releasing several highly experiment albums like Kono Kehai Fujirareteru Hajimarini (2005), which consists of nine tracks of minimalist drumming, and Uchu Ni Karamitsuiteiru Waga Itami (2005), which consists of four tracks of Haino playing manipulated oscillator signals. Haino has also collaborated with artists such as Boris, Jim O’Rourke, and Peter Brotzmann.

Best Starting Point: A Death Never To Be Complete (1997)

This album is all about movement, from the quiet to the loud and aggressive and back again. Haino’s vocals on “Though It Went So Well?” are extremely raw and, as a result, extremely powerful. His guitar work on “That Which Is Becoming Me” is the reason he’s considered by many to be a virtuoso. A difficut listen at times, but this album is more than just music, it’s a series of moments that are at the same time discordant and cohesive. A strange and haunting listen, and an experience well worth having.


Polysics
All you really have to know about this band is that they describe their music as “technicolor pogo punk” influenced primarily by Devo. Their songs are infused with an absolutely insatiable energy, driven by equally insatiable guitar and synth tracks. Think something along the lines of Parts & Labor in the eighties with cheerleaders. For a band that’s only ten years old, Polysics have a rather large catalogue of releases, including numerous compilation appearances and a handful of mini-albums.

Best Starting Point: National P (2003)

Listening to this is like being punched in the face with by an angry chipmunk painted all the colors of the rainbow. Many of the songs are punk in spirit, layered with nonsensical vocals, a plethora of weird noises, and given frequently to bubbly synth riffs. With fourteen songs clocking in at only 36 minutes, this album is short but sweet. Anyway, if it were any longer you may have a heart attack.


Download:
Ghost - Moungod Asleep [mp3]
Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - You’re Still Now Near Me Every Time [mp3]
Boredoms - Super Are [mp3]
Fushitsusha - Though It Went So Well? [mp3]
Polysics - Peach Pie On The Beach [mp3]

- Dominick Duhamel -

Rethinking the New Feist

Someone once told me that an album being criticized for some reason or another doesn’t need to be defended. Rather, it needs to be praised independent of what existing conceptions of the album are. I’m not totally sure I agree with that. And since I’m the only one I know that really loves The Reminder, I thought I’d put that disagreement into play.

Why the new Feist album is better than you think:

1. The overall coherence of the album. My main problem with Let It Die was that it felt disjointed, probably due to the number of cover songs and the amount of genre-hopping involved. The Reminder, however, is anything but disjointed; it sounds exactly like it should, a set of songs written by the same person with a vision. It just so happens that her vision leans toward adult-contemporary. Even the punchier songs like “I Feel It All” and “My Moon My Man” share the same aesthetic as the rest of the album, embracing the same simple production and instrumentation. The same structuring is at work in both the rocking “Sea Lion Woman” and the subdued “Honey Honey”. This coherence actually makes this album feel like a Feist album. This look at Feist may not yield what some expected, but it’s a picture more complete than any we’ve seen yet.

2. The choir on “Intuition”. The first time you hear it, it sounds a bit awkward and out of time. But then you see the point: the choir is a multitude of voices expressing the same thing Feist is throughout the song. It’s the idea that regret and doubt is everywhere, that everyone struggles with those nagging what ifs. This is a prime example of a song extending beyond itself, a moment where the fact that you’re listening to music is almost forgotten in lieu of feeling at one with this choir, this microcosm of an imperfect and regretful population. It’s far from upbeat, but a sentiment that universal (and so beautifully expressed) doesn’t need to be.

3. “One Two Three Four”. So one of the best songs on the album isn’t actually written by Feist, but by the girl behind New Buffalo; I can understand why people have a problem with that. But then I heard the most recent New Buffalo album and, after a couple listens, realized how totally unmemorable it is. So either New Buffalo gave Feist her very best song, or Feist took something kind of boring and made it totally awesome. I doubt that it’s the former. She made “One Two Three Four” her own… in my mind, it doesn’t matter who wrote it, it’s Feist who made it the monster track that it is.

4. Feist’s acoustic tone. Does anyone else think the way her acoustic guitar sounds is totally awesome? It’s something I always notice when listening to the album.

5. Vocal improvisation.In a world where melodies seem to stagnate left and right, it seems like Feist has too many for her own good. It seems as if she’s not content to sing the same thing twice, almost always adding to or changing her parts. And it doesn’t sound like those carefully calculated key changes in pop music today—it sounds like she actually improvised the parts while recording them, and her tendency to do that same thing live affirms that. Some wonderful moments arise because of that; check out 1:56 through “So Sorry”, 3:00 through “I Feel It All”, or 1:04 through “Honey Honey”.

6. A sense of honesty. It’s clear from the lyrics of this album (as well as in the decision to make music the way she does) that Feist isn’t trying to hide anything. The songs are filled with regret, self-deprecation, and sad ruminations. Just look at the last few lines of “The Park” or the bittersweet breakdown of “One Two Three Four”. This is Feist more brutally honest than we’ve ever seen her and the nakedness of her soul on this album is pretty powerful.

Download:
Feist - Honey Honey [mp3]
Feist - Intuition [mp3]
Feist - One Two Three Four [mp3]

- Dominick Duhamel -

Live: Acid Mothers Guru Guru 9/11/07

Even as I walked into the Troubadour, I had a feeling that it was going to be an unusual night. I was greeted at the merch table by the wave of a collapsible fan and a flurry of Japanese words among the band members. There you go. Shirts were pricey—$25—probably due to the weakness of the U.S. dollar at the moment. The first act, a band from Kentucky called The Phantom Family Halo, started off with a promising track of beautiful, atmospheric noise rock but the songs that followed failed to live up to the standard of the first. Still, not a bad opener, and one worth getting there early for.

Acid Mothers Guru Guru, which includes Mani Neumier of Guru Guru and Kawabata Makoto and Tsuyama Atsushi of Acid Mothers Temple, kicked it off exactly as I thought it would: with a couple lengthy, guitar-based psychedelic jams. They did change the pace throughout the night, however; a couple percussive tribal numbers and an odd but amazing chant-based song rounded out a stellar night of music, the latter of which gave Atsushi a chance to show the audience the astounding number of different noises he can make with his mouth. It’s also worth noting that Atsushi was wearing a fanny pack the entire evening. And that all three of them spoke very little English.

Anyway, here are some photos. Not all of them are the best quality, so bear with me. Also, if you notice that they are Makoto-centric, it’s because (a) that’s where I was standing and (b) he’s one of the few people I consider a guitar god and I wanted to bask in his glory.




FINGER TAPPING! But not in a lame way. Fuck off, Van Halen.


Mani Neumier who, according to Makoto, is 67 years old. That’s actually the only thing Makoto said in English all night. And he said it twice.






Mani Neumier, playing what appear to be tuned pans. Still not sure.


Makoto, playing his guitar with a mortar and pestel. So cool.



Download:
Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Electric Love Machine [mp3]
Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Bois-Tu De La Bière? [mp3]

- Dominick Duhamel -