Blue Cadet-3: A Music Blog by Josh R.

  Animal Collective - Prospect Hummer (2005) My copy: 2015 reissue by FatCat Records. The members of Animal Collective were introduced to cult folk singer Vashti Bunyan while touring abroad in Europe. After some convincing, the group recorded the Prospect Hummer EP in just three days with Bunyan featuring on three out of four tracks. The first two songs are demos from the Sung Tongs era, and the whole project has a similar stripped back, acoustic warmth. “It’s You” is beautifully layered with walls of acoustic guitars that unravel like flower petals gently falling to the ground. Bunyan’s soft, sweet vocals are lulling and full of love, especially on title track “Prospect Hummer.” The Animal Collective boys inject their trademark weirdness through quiet vocal pops and hisses - converting their harmonies into percussive instruments that merely provide backup for Bunyan’s singing. The drums bump along diligently, though the production is pleasantly quaint.  “Baleen Sample” ...

  Faraquet - The View From This Tower (2000) My copy: 2022 remastered reissue on gold vinyl by Dischord Records. The first and only full-length from Washington D.C. 's Faraquet proves itself an excellent choice for fans of oddball math-rock/post-hardcore fusion (think June Of 44 but with a heavier emphasis on tighter, technical riffing). Unsurprisingly, the album was produced for release on Dischord, and while no new material has surfaced, The View From This Tower was remastered for this reissue by the band’s frontman Devin Ocampo.  Kicking off with the paralyzing riffs of “Cut Self Not,” the band has your blood pumping immediately. Ocampo’s vocals are not quite emo crooning and not quite hardcore screeching, instead sitting pleasantly in between with a nice control of pitch. There are prog and math-rock comparisons drawn within their ever-shifting structures, though the guitars often have a punkish force, grounding the experience. “Carefully Planned” dances about, injecti...

  Alex G - Rules (2013) My copy: 2019 reissue by Lucky Number. While Trick more firmly bolstered Alex Giannascoli’s audience, Rules actually released earlier in the same year, showcasing a higher production value and deeper songwriting abilities. This point in Giannascoli’s career saw a mix of differing mid-level record labels competing to put out physical copies of his work, until he finally signed with Domino in 2015.  “Water” has all the classic Alex G makings, from twinkly arpeggios to well-layered sliding guitar riffs until the track ventures off into a fog of watery vibrato effects, appearing again with a final melodic passage. The sweet acoustic jam of “Come Back” starts out rather loose, and flimsy until Giannascoli throws a haymaker of dense fuzz, erupting into an impressive and anthemic hard rock progression. The chorus drenched atmosphere of “Fighting” puts indie grifters like DeMarco to shame, and may even give early Conan Mockasin a run for his money. Giannasc...

  Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain (2003) My copy: 2022 limited Record Store Day reissue by Get On Down. Daniel Dumile Thompson is a name that almost feels more like an alias than the English born, Long Island native rapper’s many iconic characters. Viktor Vaughn may be less popular than the MF Doom persona, but Vaudeville Villain is not a record to take lightly by any means. Predating Thompson’s biggest hit in the Madlib produced Madvillainy by just one year, Vaudeville Villain unfortunately feels overshadowed slightly. Though Doom is meant to be Thompson’s main evil-doer role, Viktor Vaughn’s beats and excursions feel more brooding and visceral in general.  “Vaudeville Villain” is one of the best openers Thompson has ever produced, mixing gnarly growls of distortion with bumping bass and pulsating key blasts. The flow perfectly compliments the hopping, syncopated percussion and the rhymes are as stylish as they are entertaining. Vaudeville Villain is home to a slew of ...

  Ras G - Raw Fruit Vol. 3 & 4 (2015) My copy: 2015 press by Leaving Records. Ras G was the project of Gregory Shorter Jr. who tragically passed away in 2019. Cut from the same cloth as fellow sample based producers as Madlib and Flying Lotus, Shorter Jr. began releasing his Raw Fruit series on Leaving Records in 2012. This double album collects both volumes three and four, which are the final two entries in the collection.  Volume three kicks off with “Hear U,” displaying the heavy, low-end centric production of the album with murky mids and trembling bass hits. Shorter Jr. was known for his “cosmic” touch, with many tracks featuring glimmers of beeping electronic samples. The mid section of the A-side suffers from a serious underrepresentation of high frequencies in the samples, of note being “Rawk ‘n’s” weak guitar that could have made for a powerful loop. The first sample features rapper Giovanni Marks on “Keep It Crev” but the performance sounds sleepy and bored i...

Cluster - Zuckerzeit (1974) My copy: 2007 reissue by Lilith. Duo project of Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Cluster found themselves at the heart of Berlin’s krautrock movement in the 70s. Though they are often less appreciated than bigger names like Kraftwerk or Neu! (they’ve collaborated with both), Cluster were masterminds of carving out sonically ambitious corridors of electronic repetition. Zuckerzeit (translates to “sugar age”) marked a shift in mindset for the duo, given that they had moved to the country and built up their own studio. The album itself is essentially two solo records combined, as the artists each worked on their own collection of tracks.  The trilling bass of “Hollywood” eases us in, and while the drum loops are soft and warm, the rhythm is uneven so as to keep things just outside the norm. Still, Roedelius’s tracks are much smoother, with richer layering. Moebius’s “Caramel” is bubbly and eccentric, and remarkably modern sounding for 1974. Th...

  Molchat Doma - S Krysh Nashikh Domov   (2017) My copy: 2020 limited reissue on clear vinyl by Sacred Bones Records. One year before Belarus's Molchat Doma would be launched into indie stardom through a viral TikTok hit, they trio debuted with S Krysh Nashikh Domov (From Our Houses’ Rooftops), which introduces their relatively simple formula for a synthwave/post-punk crossover.  The band essentially switches between two core formats across the album: gothic synthwave with warm, mysterious progressions and simple post-punk grooves. “Doma Molchat” introduces their dancey-but-chilling sound with drum loops and cool guitar strums. The production is quite tinny and mid-focused, especially on “Kryshi” where the bass is mixed low beneath whistling synths. Each song relishes in a simple verse/chorus structure, with one main melody repeating on each track. The writing leavea much to be desired, but these are purveyors of atmosphere over all else. “Mashina Rabotaet” is the nex...

  The Microphones - It Was Hot, We Stayed In The Water (2000) My copy: 2013 reissue by P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd. Most lo-fi genre tourists find themselves face to face with The Microphones’s The Glow Pt. 2 album early into their exploration. “But where’s the Glow Pt. 1 record ?” some have asked before digging into any of Phil Elverum’s back catalog. Such confusion may be warranted, as it’s not often that an entire album is crafted as a sequel to a singular song on the previous album. That’s right, crack open a copy of It Was Hot, We Stayed In The Water and you’ll see the original “The Glow” sitting at eleven minutes on the A-side. So how does It Was Hot, We Stayed In The Water stand up to its more famous successor? Surprisingly well, for its playful experimentation and more concise runtime.  Repetition is key on “The Pull” where an acoustic guitar is strummed hypnotically, with panning effects in full swing. The mood is warm and sweet before drums explode, sending disto...

  Old Time Relijun - Catharsis In Crisis  (2007) My copy: 2007 press by K Records.  The third and final record in the “Lost Light Trilogy” from Washington’s Old Time Relijun, Catharsis In Crisis truly proves that bandleader Arrington De Dionyso is capable of creating music that perfectly matches his distinctly rabid vocals.  Beginning slow in a lo-fi mush, “Indestructible Life !” quickly picks up with honking saxophone and pulsing bass. De Dionyso raves as if he were a cornered animal, barking confidently and wavering in fear simultaneously. “Tightest Cage” shows their ability to craft a catchy hook, though the muddy production hurts what could be some truly heavy moments. Still, the guitars are rife with experimental shrieking that give the music a sharper edge. “Daemon Meeting” borders on overly comedic, but gets its bearing in the second half as the vocals become more panicked over the borderline surf-rock riffs. The production is especially queasy, in a pleas...

  Ugly Casanova - Sharpen Your Teeth (2002) My copy: 2015 press by Sub Pop. Ugly Casanova was a vehicle for Isaac Brock, most known for his role in Modest Mouse, to release a series of new songs in collaboration with several friends from other bands. Sharpen Your Teeth is their only offering, but its work stands out for its usage of both stripped-down, indie-folk methods and rich psychedelic layering.  Reversed melodies are used frequently, such as in the beginning to “Barnacles,” a straightforward opening track that implants the emotionally raw tone of the record. Drum tracks boom under acoustic guitar licks and layered vocals - electric guitars are used mostly as chopped up accents with drunken, swaying feedback. “Spilled Milk Factory” is an eccentric Tom Waits-ian blues piece with gargled bass, clattered organic percussion and quiet horns (likely midi). Brock’s lyrical aggression is drawn out more on “Parasites” which is an old Modest Mouse demo that’s been upgraded for...

  Mount Eerie - (After) (2018) My copy: 2018 press by P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd. (After) is a live recording of Phil Elverum performing songs from A Crow Looked At Me and Now Only, both of which focus on the death of his wife to cancer. The set took place in the beautiful cathedral that adorns the album cover, as was performed during Le Guess Who? Festival in the Netherlands. A Crow Looked At Me is already a painful and heart wrenching musical experience, and (After)’s live environment allows Elverum’s emotional stream-of-consciousness to expand out into a chasm of natural reverb, suiting the stripped-back and vulnerable tracks perfectly.  The songs are played straight, meaning there isn’t much to say that shouldn’t already be stated in a review of the original records themselves. I will argue that this record is the definitive way to experience some of these songs as the performance and recording itself are both executed with exceptional grace. The presence of the audie...