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Free Song Download of "River," off of Akron/Family's forthcoming album Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free (out Tuesday, May 5th on Dead Oceans). Back down to a trio, the new record finds the band successfully incorporating African rhythms, free jazz and even a little funk into their celebratory communal sing-a-longs. All at once adventurous, listenable, and truly psychedelic on its own terms, Set 'Em Wild triumphantly marks a new era for the Akron/Family. This Week's Featured Downloads
The collaborative moniker of the Jan Jelinek live band, Groupshow is a veritable hotbed of Berlin-based talent. With Static's Hanno Leichtmann on drums, Andrew Pekler on bass and Jelinek himself holding the reigns, the results were always going to be interesting. Jelinek toured with his two friends and collaborators for some time, enough time in fact for the group to jot down over 200 Gigabytes of recordings. (To you non-techies that's a f**klot of material!) The Martyrdom of Groupshow is made up from the edited highlights of that glut of work and shows succinctly the trio's ability to blend the electronic and acoustic worlds quite masterfully. Jelinek's involvement is evident, but at times the work is closer in sound to Radian than Farben. Bubbling Kraut-core synthesizers line Leichtmann's skeletal rhythms and Pekler's elastic bass -- in fact, at times you could be excused for thinking this was a forgotten mid-'70s library music gem crafted in the hope of getting working class pre-teens dancing with their school friends. There's a keen sense of humor at play here, and hearing the three musicians genuinely juggle their craft makes this one of the most intriguing records to come from the Scape camp for some time. All it takes is a bit of playfulness and you can forget this is 'difficult' music at all. -John Twells
Another great album rescued from obscurity by the Omni label, whose back catalog includes must-have reissues by Porter Wagoner, Jimmy Driftwood, Jack & Misty, Henson Cargill, and Bruce Haack. Perhaps best known for her song "Little Boxes" (which is the theme song to the TV show Weeds, but was made famous by Pete Seeger), Malvina Reynolds had reached the ripe old age of 70 when she joined forces with members of the Byrds and the Dillards in 1970. The result of these sessions, a self-titled LP, is a lovely protest slash county-folk album that is definitely more sprightly than grandmotherly. Her aching voice, which occasionally turns into more of a creak and a croak, delivers topical tales very specific to the era (there are songs about the Black Panthers, capitalism, and the destruction of Mother Nature), and the all-star backing band sounds sublime. (The expanded reissue comes with twelve bonus tracks, some unreleased.) -Andreas Knutsen
Those of you who browse OM's racks on a semi-regular basis have most likely walked past the International section to see a CD or LP on display with a sign next to it reading "Afro Jam of the Week!" It's a clear and easy way to address the wonderful overflow of incredible African music reissues spilling out these days, and it's also a direct line to my enthusiasm for them. This reissue by Nigerian high-schoolers Ofege very well takes the cake for the "Afro Jam of the Month" award -- tight, funky, with light psych touches and some killer guitar work by Berkley Jones of Nigerian heavyweights Blo. What really gets me, though, are Melvin Ukachi's vocals; there's a soulful longing in his pubescent voice that would come off as overwrought by a singer with more bellowing, baritone pipes (often a trait of many an Afrobeat vocalist). On these tracks, he's jamming it like Chrissy Zebby Tembo's sensitive younger brother, with the rest of the band providing sweet harmonies in the distance, best exemplified on "It's Not Easy" -- one of the highlights on a record filled with them. Simply put, this record is a monster, and if you've been digging albums like the Zebby Tembo, Peace, or Nigeria Special reissues, you NEED this in your collection. -Mikey IQ Jones
We are thrilled to see the discography of one of our favorite indie bands of all time make it to our digital store, nicely remastered with bonus cuts. Galaxie 500...do they really need any sort of introduction? It's impossible to pick a favorite album from the group but their third and final full-length, 1990's This Is Our Music, is a glorious, reverb-swirled swan song from Dean, Damon and Naomi. Includes a bonus cut of Galaxie covering the VU's "Here She Comes Now."
Probably my favorite disc to emerge from ex-Kranky man Bruce Adams' new label Flingco Sound System, this latest from Haptic is something to be truly treasured. The Chicago-based trio of Steven Hess (Pan American, Dropp Ensemble, On), Josephe Clayton Mills (Dropp Ensemble) and Adam Sondberg (Dropp Ensemble), The Medium takes their tabletop ambience to new heights with two breathtakingly sublime exercises in thrumming perfection. Those who have come across Haptic before will know the steez; although Hess might be playing drums with Mills and Sondberg taking control of any number of other instruments, every sound is blurred into a vibrating haze of transcendent, meditative bliss. I know I've made it sound new-age now, but it's not -- this is academic, lower case improv but with a sensitive heart. You get the feeling that these players, rather than immerse themselves in 'the scene', have a deep, long standing interest in simply making music and The Medium is a testament to that. It might not be music that was ever supposed to appeal to everyone but with a mass of cooling drones, chirping percussion and simple, warming tones it should bring their sound to a number of fresh-faced listeners. Unmissably gorgeous music. -John Twells
I often tell people my thoughts about 'quiet noise' and you can probably imagine the response. "Quiet noise?!" they exclaim in disbelief, "that's missing the point!" Well maybe it is, but it's a genre that has emerged over the years, a genre possibly rooted in the dark ambient experiments of the early 80s, one procured from noise that was never meant to be particularly loud. Cristal's Re-Ups is the latest from Labradford man Bobby Donne and his partners in crime, Greg Darden and Jimmy Anthony; it's the band's second full-length and perfectly proves my points about 'quiet noise'. There is no doubting the record's noise credentials in its most heavily processed, abrasive and knee-trembling segments, but overall Re-Ups is a quiet and measured affair. The shards of glassy, strychnine-laced fear are embedded in streams of such delicately processed drones that you would be forgiven for thinking it might have been a dream. This isn't an album that shouts at you -- rather it creeps up behind you, tickles your left shoulder and then blames the embarrassed stranger. Give it a home and give it time, you'll be inviting Cristal back again and again, just don't play it too loud. -John Twells
Black metal is a tight knit scene -- deviate from the norm and you risk alienating yourself from the fans, and black metal fans, as many of us, know are a tough bunch to keep content. In a genre focused on what is (and isn't) KVLT (cult), doing something that little bit different can be a dangerous path to take; thankfully WRNLRD (pronounced Wern Lerd for any entry levelers around) manages to stay on the right side of the invisible line with Oneiromantical War. The ear-bleedingly treble heavy shards of electric guitar are all present and correct, and the lazy and slightly off-time drumming is there too. But under the hood there's a little bit more grey matter than you might usually expect to find from the USBM set. Opener "Nighthole" sets the bar with its light laptop-processes echoing more Fennesz than Fenriz; but while we're launched into a Xasthur-style funereal slop with "Breath of Doors," mid-way through the track folds in on itself, twisting and turning your expectations as it chops into the black metal formula, punctuating it with noise and dense, doom-ridden ambience. Slow and deftly measured, WRNLRD's metal is a far cry from Immortal or nu-skool poster boys Watain, but somewhere in there is the very essence of the genre -- pent up anger, deep melancholy and an understanding of the punk aesthetic. So you might not be able to pick up a teeshirt on Upper Haight and few fans are likely to have carved these initials into their arms (yet), but there's definitely something KVLT about WRNLRD. Just remember to keep the church burning to a minimum and you'll be just fine... -John Twells
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