Nakatani/Nanna/Schoofs/Woods – Nakatani/Nanna/Schoofs/Woods (Full Spectrum Records – Littlefield, TX)
Sixteen bits of edited material from an impromptu recording session in Milwaukee. Like Joan La Barbara vocalizing into a set of drums with Jaco P walking his bass tones all over it, these thick and concise blobs seem endless. On a whole, it feels tensely barren, and details trickle through in a way that’ll make you feel like you’re making something out through a desert mirage. It’s hard to tell if the players are being patient or polite. Either way, when things are voiced, they are powerful and without drama.
Rocio Cano Valiño – Tâches (Resterecords – London, UK)
A selection of acousmatic works from the Argentinian composer. Tâches is a beautiful projection of whiplashed concrete sounds and pinpointed field recordings that seem in line with South American concrète luminaries, think Jocy de Oliveira. Abstractions are stitched together as an unfettered amalgam, and a clear narrative whistles throughout. With a stale ear, it might just sound like noise. But there are certain landmarks here that paint sobering pictures that are light on their feet. Poetic slop doesn’t do the thing justice, but if you have a stale ear by the end of this, hopefully the eclipse will reset you or something.
Still House Plants – Assemblages (GLARC – Glasgow, UK)
Debut full-length from the Glasgow three-piece. After releasing a cassette last year on the same label, Assemblages is more of an open affair. Whereas their self-titled felt trimmed, almost crystalized, Assemblages sees Still House Plants sprawl into wider spaces and execute pieces that seem like they’re based off of a particular way of scratching guitar strings or of softly pattering a snare. Nonetheless, they still possess that searing operatic post-punk sound, and they could pass as a less prophetic Magic Band, but with iPhones, less discipline, and a rounder meal than beans from a can.
Br’lâaB – Molochville (Ana Ott – NRW, Germany)
Vaguely symphonic drones, warped broadcast from-the-next-room-over tones, and a whippets-worth of whisked tape snippets, all warbling together in some ballroom. Brecht Ameel takes some themes from his Acid Boogie Quartet, and also creates tape collage pieces of found audio, degraded VHS, skipping CDs, and sandpaper vinyls. Military cornets lead into mumbling surf guitars; In Molochville, sounds are usually disguised as their opposites and an eerie calm of losing control is a constant. It’s like a daydreamed Black Dice album, or a sibling of that Action Figures cassette from a few years back.
Rosemary Loves A Blackberry – ❤️ (Anti-Ghost Moon Ray – UK)
Energetic synth pop from Diana Burkot, member of Fanny Kaplan. In spirit, it’s sometimes reminiscent of Maria Minerva—particularly the empty dancefloor at dusk feel, along with the enraptured, curdling vocals—and it also has touches of early Grimes and light-headed techoid streams that could’ve come from Laurel Halo’s Quarantine. Some sounds approximate an 8-bit elephant trunk squeal or a sample of a failing footbridge really helicopter the mood, and when they brew with the lulled torque of Burkot’s falsetto that’s what makes the thing click.
