Category Archives: artist of the week

Anji Bee reviews one Chillcast artist per week.

artist of the week

Review of Temporal by Love Spirals Downwards

I penned this review of the latest LSD release on Projekt Records for my KUCI website, but wanted to share it here, too. Especially since I designed the album art!

LSD begin the new millenium with the release of Temporal, a collection of songs spanning the 7 year history of the band. From their hauntingly beautiful acoustic beginnings to their present drum’n’bass & electronica sound, this compilation covers the entirety of Love Spirals’ career with 13 tracks culled from their master tapes. Arranged in groups of three songs from the four major periods of recording, Temporal begins at the end, with a set of remixes from the last studio album, Flux, done by Ryan last summer. 

“Alicia” is a flamenco spiced bossa nova drum’n’bass tune with lovely acoustic guitar licks provided by Rodney Rodriguez of The Von Trapps. With the remix, the vocals are downplayed, and the rhythm made stronger. Lots of ethereal pads have been added, to subsitute for the old analogy keyboards of the original. “Misunderstood” has been almost entirely revamped with exciting breakbeats and lots of fabulous moody saxophone played by Doron Orenstein of Toof. This remix is my favorite track of the album for sure.

Also included on the album are several songs from various compilations or eps, such as the heartbreaking instrumental, “Amarillo.” Ryan is a master at extracting the maximum amount of emotion with a minimal guitar melody, and this composition of acoustic, electric and ebowed guitar is a masterpiece. No vocals are needed to get his melancholic message across to the listener. “Asleep” is a near-instrumental from the period between Ever and Flux which appeared on a small-run compilation by Precipice Recordings. This early attempt at d’n’b production definitely shows the influence of Good Looking Records artists on the band’s music. For vocals, Ryan ran a sample of Suzanne backwards, lending a very strange effect to a simple, fairly upbeat track. Of course, there’s always an undertone of sadness in all LSD songs, and “Asleep” is no exception.

There’s also a live track from one of the rare performances given by the band. Simply acoustic guitar and vocals (plus plenty of reverb), this song gives you a fair idea of the magic of those early days for LSD. Taken from a group of recorded performances recently uncovered by Ryan, this is just a taste of the rumored “live album” he plans to release at some point in the future.

To fill out the ensemble, there’s a nice array of tunes culled from each release, presumably Ryan’s favorites, since he put the release together himself. All in all, Temporal is 66 bliss-filled minutes lovingly selected as a body of work as unique as the journey of Love Spirals Downwards music from then to now has been.

For those who have never heard Love Spirals Downwards before and want some band comparisons, let me offer the following: Everything But the Girl, Perfume Tree, Massive Attack, Halou, Siddal, Cocteau Twins and Slowdive.

artist of the week

Review of ‘Flux’ by Love Spirals Downwards

I wrote this review for the program guide for KUCI 88.9 fm

With Flux, Ryan Lum has fully committed himself to the electronic groove based sound first hinted at on his last album, Ever. This newest album should finally blast away the misconception that Love Spirals Downwards is a “goth band.” If you ask Ryan, he’ll firmly insist that they never were gothic to begin with, as he himself is certainly not goth, and neither is his long time vocalist, Suzanne Perry. While he admits having been to Helter Skelter a time or two, Ryan has been deeply involved with the underground rave scene since 1989.

Flux gives full play to Ryan’s increasing attraction to the melodic side of drum and bass music, with seven of nine tracks using that unique polyrhythmic technique for the basis of the songs. Over this electronic bed of beats, samples and synth, he lays his signature guitar melodies and lush washes, using both electric and acoustic guitars. Unlike most drum and bass projects, vocals are used extensively on Flux, creating more of a listening album feel that a dance club vibe. Ryan utilizes more sampling of vocals now than on past albums, which were more rock based.

Also of note is the fact that Ryan used several vocalists for Flux. Not only did he work with Suzanne, but also her sister, Kristen, for two songs, as well as using a sample of Jennifer Ryan Fuller taken from Ardor, for one track. All the vocals are very dreamy, light, ultimately feminine and classically Projekt in sound. I believe it’s the vocal sound Ryan prefers which still keeps him in favor with the gothic/Projekt/4AD contingency that follows LSD, perhaps even more so than his beautifully poignant guitar playing. This combination brings to mind Cocteau Twins, particularly the Otherness EP. More closely related in sound would be Massive Attack, with Elizabeth Frazier (of Cocteau Twins) providing vocals, on the new album Mezzanine. Both acts produce a similar blend of pop rock and electronic dance music in a listening album format.

Through college radio air play and Projekt’s increasing promotional devices (such as listening booths in major chain stores) word is leaking out to the general public. LSD possesses a potentially wide appeal that has remained mostly untapped until this point. Their blend of ethereal pop and danceable grooves is truly the most contemporary thing going on at Projekt records and something that I think many people are ready for.

For myself, I find Flux to be a perfect balance of sing-along songs and zone-out background whether I’m on the computer, doing housework, hanging with friends or driving around. The tempo is steady, the melodies heartbreaking, the vocals soothing, and it all flows together in the seamless, trance inducing, spirit-lifting vein of LSD’s past albums. Ryan has a way of creating happy-sad music that simultaneously makes me feel exalted and contemplative. Fans often speak of the spirituality of LSD’s music, and Ryan agrees that his music is largely a spiritual expression. With Flux, the songs speak both to your spirit and your mind, your heart and your body.

all-purpose nuclear bedtime story, review

The Linked Dreams of Lonely Moons V/A Review

People generally don’t seem to have much respect for taped music, but this is one cassette-only release that’s certainly worth looking into. Of course, being the rare little gem that it is, you pretty much need to know that it exists before you can secure yourself a copy via mail order.

Vuzh Music is run by c. reider, who has been involved in the mail art and tape exchange scene for years. This is a fairly new endeavor for him, and I believe this is the first release he’s done with other people’s music. Before Vuzh was begun, he released several cassette-only albums of his own material, lovingly dubbing each cassette one at a time as the orders came in. He also has had his music released by a number of other cassette-only labels, which likely gave him the idea to finally start his own.

the linked dreams of lonely moons comes in a fetchingly understated, but gracefully hand-painted tape jacket with hand dyed cloth labels. Undoubtedly each tape is also hand dubbed, but the sound quality is clean enough. The tape itself is an hour long, featuring “a handpicked selection of the underground’s finest music,” as Vuzh puts it in their ad.

c. reider sent out letters to his favorite independent music makers to request their inclusion in the project with exclusive cuts, keeping the theme of the tape in mind. In two years time, he had complied a nice variety of acts, with a fairly smooth transition between songs. Largely instrumental, the tape glides from one track to the next, weaving a spell of strange, melancholic atmospheres with tinges of darkness and undertones of the disturbing.

The prize offering of the tape is a collaboration with Jarboe (of Swans fame) and Brian Castillo, called Phrenz-C. Their track, “Vomit Veritas (v.2)” is the scariest offering of the bunch, with Jarboe’s despairingly bleak spoken word over an eerie backdrop of distorted guitar noise and piano. This tape is sure to be a collector’s item for the inclusion of this track alone.

The second best-known act would likely be Dust, which is a side project of Lycia, with Mike Van Portfleet and John Fair. Unfortunately, this wispy little guitar number blows by in less than a minute. But it’s a beautifully brief tease of a song.

c. reider’s solo project, Luster, provides a strong vocally-centered song with wonderfully simple, but emotional, bassline and guitar riffs. The drum programming is subtle, but driving, and I might hear some understated keyboards and noise mixed into the background as well. This is one of Luster’s melancholy pop masterpieces, to be sure.

Luster also collaborates on one track with Eyelight, which is a one woman project consisting solely of voice, as I understand it. This is one of the longest songs here, meandering along with Jennifer’s lovely vocal textures and c. reider’s ambient keyboard textures, slowly building steam.

Then there’s Datura, which is how we came to know about this cassette, being my and Justin’s band. Of course, it’s hardly fair for me to critique this cut, but I can say that c. reider told us it was one of the more structured and lively songs of the compilation. I would say it’s just a bit more pop than Luster, falling further to the melodramatic than melancholy side of sad.

Other acts include experimental noisesters The Tall Bald Grandfathers, from Massachusetts, dream droney The DrowningBreathing, from Louisiana, and two foreign artists I’m not familiar with, Kirchemkampf and Klimperi (who do another song under the name Deleted).

Over all this is a very interesting cassette which grows on me more and more with every listen. I’ve found it makes for an interesting background while I’m puttering about the house, being on the computer, reading a book, or simply dreaming out the window with eyes half closed, thinking of other times and places.

Vuzh Music / P. O. Box 1204 / Lyons, CO / 80540-1204 / USA

— Review by Anji Bee of The All Purpose Nuclear Bedtime Story

UPDATE: this album is now available via Internet Archive

review

Dewdrops Reviews Ravensong ‘Exorcism’

With Dewdrops Fanzine, you get not just one, but TWO reviews! Check out what Brant and Pat had to say about about the newly released Ravensong cassette.

The first song on this demo tape will quickly have you doing a double take. And you thought you had all the songs Tones on Tail ever did… Seriously, “The Calling of Bacchus” has the same odd, playful melody in minor chords characteristic of that post-Bauhaus, pre-Love and Rockets band. The vocals are even creepy in a Peter Murphy kind of way. I’d welcome more in this style, but the rest of the tape mostly dabbles in electronic ambiance experiments, phantasmagoria (what else would you expect from the title?), and the supernatural aspects of Twin Peaks (lots of samples from the TV show). Some of their influences that become notable later obviously include O Yuki Conjugate, Lycia, and Dead Can Dance. Nothing wrong with that at all!

7 lilies – bn

Dark gothic chants or Friday the 13th, Part 18 incidental soundtrack music? Perhaps a little of both as they come together in a rather unsettling blend of foot-tapping/demon summoning fare. These are the ruminations of one Justin Johnsen, whom I envision as a guy with several keyboards and a walk-in closet full of black. I do have to hand it to him, though, because he has the distinction of being living proof that Peter Murphy lives! And can Justin write haikus and sonnets that not only comprise the entire lyrics of “Exorcism,” but fit amazingly well with the music? Yes, just call him the Master of Meter from Hell! This brings a new meaning to the term “iambic penta(gon) meter.”

“The Calling of Bacchus,” from the first listening, conjured visions of walking through a dark, cold forest and approaching a strangely bright bonfire where animals, women and men dance in an arcane ritual. The really odd thing is that I envisioned all this before reading the lyrics, which just happen to be talking about some of those very same elements.

“The Jackal” is a carnival ride in the dark, with more than just a hint of Tones on Tail. “The Hanging” and “Lament for Ileysia” combine metallic horror, sirens and synths. “Capuchin” sounds like George Harrison doing Halloween’s soundtrack, while “The Long Road to Bellgrave” reminds me of Ryuichi Sakamoto doing the same. And to top it all of, “Into the Black Lodge” drags us back to the set of Twin Peaks for another bout with the Dark One, this time with tons of samples straight from the last episode of the series. Gothic? Umm, oh yes, I think so…

8 lilies —pm