No Eyed Bird

Lucrecia released the digital EP Like Being Home in summer of 2007 from the Colombian label Series Media. Charming lyrics coupled with muted electronic-acoustic sounds define the 5 tracks. Hailing from Pereira, Colombia, Lucrecia Perez puts together simple melodies that could embed itself into the being of any warm-blooded human. As a guitarist-vocalist-producer, Lucrecia is able to put together all the disparate elements of acoustic pop into a finely polished product, complete with her her own pretty voice topping the compositions.

Track 1 “Let’s Pretend” opens with claves and guitar, with percussion and other sounds slowly layering over, working up to a simple love song. Track 2 “Like Being Home” has slightly more in terms of Lucrecia’s electronic music background, with some synths layered in. Track 3 “Counting Backwards” is arguably the best track on the release, quietly driving forward with its beautiful, subtle piano and drum combo, with Lucrecia’s sweet vocals repeating the catchy little chorus. Track 4 “Changing The Weather” changes the direction of the release, toning down the energy with intricate, mellow drums playing triplets. Finally, track 5 “Millones” is a quiet, slow lullaby that closes out the EP with memory of the aural sugar of the last 20 minutes.

While Like Being Home is quite short, it is quite possibly one of the best electronic-acoustic pop releases from Colombia (it will definitely be hard to top by anyone), and is definitely worth a listen. The fact that it is a free download from Series Media means that there will be no excuses for missing this one.

Lucrecia - Counting Backwards

1990’s Psych-rock-garage group from Harrisburg Virginia made up of members Sexua on vocals, Lmil on drums, Kshake on guitar and Ame Dread on bass. Part gimmick band, the groups thing was to dress up in different costumes for each show, as they did a puppet show one time and wore only vines another. Featured on this album is a cover song of the 70’s psych group Ultimate Spinach cut Hip Death Goddess (Ballad of the). The recording is by Warton Tiers who also did many of the early Sonic Youth albums. Its god a bit of the Sonic Youth and Fall vibe to it but without the seriousness to continue doing the act for more that the few years they were together as a college band at James Madison University. Think of a milkshake gone bad, left out on its own in college, getting drunk and figuring out how to make a lasting impression upon the world, and the audio slop will begin to make sense. The packaging for the original vinyl release which I unfortunately did not get, included a 3-D poster of the group, gorilla 3-D glasses (w/ scratch and sniff banana), chopsticks, a 12-page booklet full of art, a mermaid drinking glass companion, a hot dog bag, a 2nd poster/insert, and a nudie Teen Beat matchbook with the wise words “Relax Brother Relax” scrawled upon it. Most tracks on the album are short demo sounding chucklets and included as a bonus track is the last track, a live recording called Cave Bacon, Volume 3 which includes captured sound of about 4 minutes of vinyl crackling and the end of a vinyl.

-johnny darko

Fusing improvisational Java music performance and electronic composing is Gregory Taylor  of Madison Wisconsin. This is his first musical work, piecing this 7 track CD together live by creating samples and loops of an improv. electronic composition in the vein of Post Modernist and gamelan style music theory. Ambient and soft sounds ring like a cross between soft glass harps and organic wooden church bell. Glitch influence breathes lightly over the entire album that is free from silence and seamless throughout. Minimalistic in ways much like Brian Eno yet closer to Phillip Glass, Taylor uses synth tones performing in both Indonesian pentatonic scales Slendro and Pelog. Many of the track titles come from the Javanese note names of the Slendro and Pelog scales whose 5 notes were named after body parts. Note #2 – gulu – meaning neck, note 3 dada – is the chest, note 5 – lima – is hand or five fingers, and - nem,- note 6 referring to the male genitalia. The scales sad sound sets the mood of this album as its use in countries such as Bali were for cremation ceremonies. Celebrating Indonesian traditions and expanding it into the digital age, watch out for the easy New Age classification of his 25 year devotion to the sounds of Java.

-johnny darko

Bienvenidos a Miami as Will Smith would say, yet somehow this trio didn’t hear him and dumped a blown out garage band in your lap full of cute art J. K. Rowling-esk lightning bolts, robots assembled out of the remnants of The Brave Little Toaster and as promised, bunnies. Drumstick hits tap out the start of this recently made OOP 7” delivers the robotic electric side of the bunnies. Loopy varying speed vinyl sounds with vocoder vocals and rock loops like Trans Am if someone made them record on a 4-track. The 2nd track features a short punk track with snotty Vandals style lyrics about how its “not about my sweater, not about my shoes…. I’m wearing beautiful pants”. Glad to know life is so simple over in Florida. Flip this over to find subtle psych behind bass driven lo-fi garage like slower instrumental Clash meets a druggier instrumental version of The Cure. Fun times ten as the album ends with some planned or unplanned cell phone to speaker interference. With all the choices of sound directions to go in, the Bunnies leave you wondering if in the future they’d rather open up for Abe Vigoda, Moldy Peaches, or Justice.

-johnny darko

Blame Xiu Xiu for being so good that that they will have follower groups for the next 20 years. Eyes is one of those bands, but thankfully they don’t even try to polish themselves and come off sounding much more like I.B.O.P.A. the earlier project of Xiu Xiu frontman Jamie Stewart. The group is a duo plus many, made up of Nail In The Coffin label head Jorge Tapia and William Harris. From their Midwest headquarters in East Molina Illinois, Eyes aren’t your average corn herders, with their heads stuck in cassette tape culture a indicated by the infinite amount of OOP releases and lathe cuts on their discography, not to mention an upcoming comp alongside artists Zombi. They’ll have upcoming shows with the Chinese Stars and are inspired by Sun Ra as you can hear from the acid jazz breakdown of track 5. Soular Lust. Much of the other sounds on this album tributes 80’s electronic and New Wave with hyper Halloween tremolo vocals and over-amplified everything (piano, guitars, drum machines). Expect the tremolos to keep coming with each track in the album as if an old sweaty pair of yellow and black adidas sweatpants anthropomorphized into a rainbow garden of gay core fannypack dance team hand slapping professional B-boy image assistants, who’s primary duties include making sure everything you drink is fluorescent and no actual beads of sweat form on foreheads across the nation.

-johnny darko

Decade long droners stoners Japan’s own space super fab five take psychedelic turns at speeding you through long drip out trips in long movements around 8 minutes a piece and as long as 22 minutes! You may notice this release includes vox/drummer Pikachu who sings beginning of end of movement 2 with her Native American chantingin the right channel while singing on the left. Also the prog, one cannot forget the progtastic way in which the band behind her keeps the livid rainbow forms floating in your cornea. Don’t miss out on the ultracheese classic Casio keyboard sounds in movement one. And while over 3/5ths of the bands members are bearded, do not underestimate the potential hidden beard factor which Pikachu, a current member of the band Afrirampo, may have. For those who just want a small scoop, skip to the shortest movement #4, at 4 minutes including amazing Glockenspiel performance you’re psych-tooth will fall out before you even leave the meth lab. Are these crazy band members just another innocent surf band or are they lifted spacemen drifting into the depths of darkened obscurity? Either way enjoy on your upper/downer of choice and be prepared to have your mind reprogrammed by hyperactive braintrolls with severe ADD.

FYI: Acid Mothers Temple & the Cosmic Inferno differs from the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. not only in line-up but also in style of music. The Cosmic Inferno generally plays much heavier, hard-rock inspired psychedelia, and experiments more with effects pedals. (wikipedia)

-johnny darko