Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Circle X - prehistory (1983)



Circle X's Prehistory was the most far-out psychedelic album of it's time, if not of all times.

It started with "Current", a delirium depicting a primitive scene in a jungle - consisting of a buzz of swarming guitars, a dizzying polyphony of tribal-drums, an offbeat funk bassline with faint Middle-Eastern echoes, wild electronic noises and guitar-feedback, and semi-chanting vocals. The textures never stayed the same; the layers and density kept interweaving and were continuously rearranged.

The future-primitive (and thus subliminal) dance continued with "Prehistory I", that started with tame electronic noises and added apprehensive cries, fragmented tribal beats and manic guitar-strumming, bells-percussion, razor-like feedback, and then all the elements combined in a ritual-dance frenzy. The singer completed his suggestive psychoanalysis by delving into the subconscious of a menacing pagan sub-reality.

A disruption in the continuum was evident in "Culture Progress", where the nightmare took a vividly real form of a menacing abyss of wild dissonances, which then materialized in a cyclical industrial-dance of monstrous reflections in a mirror of ancient ornaments. Back in the shadow-world of the human subconscious, in "Underworld" the ancient land "beneath" is torn by miniature volcanoes of electric shocks, only for the Freud-ian id to take a non-form barely contained in colossal spasms.

More than just music, Prehistory's catharsis reached beyond.

Get it here. Thanks to Nexd. Included are pictures of the cover, back-cover, booklet, and two vinyl sides.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Tuxedomoon - no tears (1978)



No Tears
is even more engaging than Pinheads On The Move. "New Machine" is equally synth-punk and a romantic futurist anthem, while "Litebulb Overkill" transformed the new-wave song to an austere chamber sonata, "Nite And Day" to a depressed robotic surreal mini-symphony, and "No Tears" to a lycanthropic yell drone dance. With this release Tuxedomoon merged the punks with the intellectuals.

Get it here.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Mothers Of Invention - burnt weeny sandwich (1970)



Zappa and his Mothers Of Invention struck again with Burnt Weeny Sandwich. The recipe this time ranged from lounge parodies ("WPLJ"), bust circus music ("Igor's Boogie Phase One"), soaring 60's soundtrack themes ("Overture To A Holiday In Berlin"), to epic acid-rock with wild percussion ("Theme From Burnt Weeny Sandwich"), unorthodox cosmopolitan jazz-themes ("Holiday in Berlin Full Blown"), exotic rainbow splashes ("Aybe Sea") and so on.

On top of it all lay the 18-minute "The Little House I Used to Live In", that starts as irrational piano sonata, turns to triumphant prog-jazz theme, and then to a colossal jam: frenetic, cacophonous, with acid, slavic-folk and lounge overtones. But the epic isn't over. It then transforms to a minor orchestral fantasia, and then turns to one last spectral delirious jam. This track is a wild celebration of the free creative spirit of this great band.

The closing 60's pop "Valarie" is one last joke by Zappa, the great prankster, and also adds to the surreal feel.

Get it here.