Archive for August, 2011
Album of the day: Efrim Manuel Menuck – Plays High Gospel
Posted on Monday, August 8th, 2011
Lovingly pinched from The Sleeping Shaman: In his nearly two-decade-long career, Efrim Menuck has distinguished himself as an innovative musician whose work with Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Thee Silver Mt. Zion has, at times, led the post-rock movement and inspired countless imitators.
In those bands Menuck always managed to maintain a certain degree of anonymity and mystery, allowing us as listeners to disregard any sense of musical ego or individual personality in favour of enjoying the group effort of Menuck and his band members. On the contrary, Plays High Gospel, his first solo album, is perhaps the first chance we’ve had to examine Menuck’s own personal sensibilities completely on his own terms.
And the subject matter on the album indicates that Menuck is welcoming us into his world with open arms as he celebrates his Montreal neighbourhood (‘Our Lady of Parc Extension and Her Munificent Sorrows’), remembers his lost friends (‘Kaddish for Chesnutt’, an ode to his sometime collaborator Vic Chesnutt) and experiences fatherhood for the first time (‘I Am No Longer a Motherless Child’).
Opening song ‘Our Lady of Parc Extension and Her Munificent Sorrows’ features a life-affirming multiple-part harmony floating atop a gorgeous sea of droaning guitar feedback. This constant drone bleeds into ‘A 12-Pt. Program for Keep on Keepin’ On’ but here it takes on a more menacing tone, lying underneath the creeping bassline and the layers of overlapping vocals before ending on a manic note with feedback and frenetic drumbeats.
Continue reading: Efrim Manuel Menuck – Plays ‘High Gospel’ CD/LP 2011 review | The Sleeping Shaman.
Listen to Efrim Manuel Menuck Plays ‘High Gospel‘ down below.
Tags: Album of the day, Constellation Records, Efrim Manuel Menuck, Efrim Menuck, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Plays High Gospel, Thee Silver Mt. Zion, Thee Sleeping Shaman, Tom McKibbin
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Monday Song: Flower Travellin’ Band – Satori Part II
Posted on Monday, August 8th, 2011
Every Monday morning we’ll post a kick-ass song to get your week going. (This week’s pick is a tribute to FTB’s Joe Yamanaka who sadly passed away on August 7th. R.I.P. Joe) Rare 8mm footage of Japanese 70′s psychedelic rock group Flower Travellin’ Band playing their last show at Maruyama ...read more
Hellfest To Stream Terrorizer Tent Performances: Pro-Shot Footage of Church of Misery Show Available
Posted on Sunday, August 7th, 2011
Hellfest have announced that they will be streaming a series of performances from this year’s Terrorizer tent! This week, pro-shot footage of Church of Misery June 17, 2011 concert at Hellfest can be viewed below. Every Friday you can check back to see performances from across the weekend.
Album of the day: Jozef van Wissem – The Joy that Never Ends
Posted on Sunday, August 7th, 2011
Lovingly pinched from Tiny Mix Tapes: Dutch-born and New York-based lutenist Jozef Van Wissem is a rare breed of contemporary musician-composer whose work transcends the perceived boundaries of early music, minimalism, and folk traditions toward something quite unique. His compositions have subverted fellow practitioners of early European lute music, rearranging ...read more
Album of the day: The Cosmic Dead – The Cosmic Dead
Posted on Saturday, August 6th, 2011
Lovingly pinched from Phantom Channel: The Cosmic Dead are four psychedelic warlords from Glasgow with a penchant for trippy, long-form grooves that summon the spirit of Komische legends such as Neu! and Can and the Space-Prog oscillations of Hawkwind, amongst other trance-inducing influences. This results in an 80 minute long ...read more
Supersonic Festival 2011, 21 – 23 October, Birmingham UK: Envy and Barn Owl Confirmed; Supersonic Podcast Available
Posted on Friday, August 5th, 2011
Envy and Barn Owl have been confirmed for this years Supersonic Festival, set for 21 -23 October, Birmingham UK. Envy are now confirmed for this years festival line up. They have become a dominant band in the independent hardcore scene in Japan, their music, through their own evolution, encompasses a ...read more
Album of the day: Falloch – Where Distant Spirits Remain
Posted on Friday, August 5th, 2011
Lovingly pinched from Metal Ireland: You’ll remember a while back that I was going all doe-eyed over Alcest’s essential Ecailles De Lune. Not to labour the point too much, but with Agalloch having gone off the boil and no new Empyrium record for far too long, it rightfully claimed its ...read more
Los Angeles Music – West Coast Sound: The Five Slowest Metal Bands
Posted on Thursday, August 4th, 2011
The words “heavy metal” to most people conjure up visions of blazing-fast guitars, rapid double-bass drumming, and whiplash-inducing headbanging. The bands below, however, are the antithesis. In fact, there’s a growing substrata of groups that are defying metal stereotypes, slowing their music to a molasses pace, incorporating slow-motion riffs, and ...read more
Album of the day: Ancient VVisdom – A Godlike Inferno
Posted on Thursday, August 4th, 2011
Lovingly pinched from Metal Underground.com: Repetition is one of the foremost techniques for remembrance and rewiring (or brainwashing) one’s brain. Ancient VVisdom’s debut full length A Godlike Inferno reveals repetition that ensures their words remain fixed inside the mind of their listeners. The chorus on ‘The Opposition’, “Hail to thee, ...read more
Kink X-Rated Roadburn Radio: 8pm to 11pm CET (Get Ready For The Broadcast of Solace’s Performance at Roadburn 2009)
Posted on Thursday, August 4th, 2011
Here is our playlist for this week’s Roadburn Radio on Kink X-Rated. Tune in from 8pm to 11pm CET (2pm EST / 11am PST) and listen to the latest sounds from the underground and the bands that inspire us as we work on next year’s Roadburn festival. And get ready ...read more
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