LP Review: "Mere Mortals" by The Lumberjack Feedback

Mere Mortals

It's been over three years since the mighty Frenchmen that people The Lumberjack Feedback have been inside of my ears with new songs.

They're a band that's really hard to describe, but that are ever so good.

Their last album, Blackened Visions, is in vinyl rotation in my house. It's an absolute gem of an avant garde instrumental record.

Now, they have returned and they have added...

I'm not going to say vocals, because they're still an avant garde instrumental band, but perhaps they're a touch more focused.

Really, I should have listened to the aforementioned Visions record before writing this, but there was a Blues hockey game on the TV last night and my family loves hockey.As The Lumberjack Feedback is French, they probably don't much care for it, because they're French French and not French Canadian.

There's no perfect adjectives to describe their sound and no adverbs that can relate to how they're creating that sound. Their songs allow the listener to check out of their head and fall into the natural vibrato and reverb.

It's easy to get lost in there.

RELEASE 4/26/19 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

LP Review: "Ambiance" by Ølten

Ambiance

It's nearly time for that most festive of days. It's the one where the lights are out and we let out our inner selves.

This is the holiday where I cower away from people under the cover of darkness. If you guessed Halloween. You nailed it.

Being socially awkward really takes the fun out of social holidays. So instead of dressing up and being visible, let's turn to a great record that you can use for all of your Halloween parties!

The Swiss are quite good at putting out bands and Ølten is no exception. They're a sludgy, Post Toastie Metal band. This record is quite aptly titled.

This record, isn't a traditional slab of songs, is more of a series of moods. Those moods, while never evil, never angry, are ominous. Imagine spending the spooky preamble of a horror film while you're waiting to see the monster for the first time for about forty five minutes.

At first glance, this cover is wrong, but on second...what seemed incorrect earlier has become terrifyingly right.

Release 11/1/18 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

LP Review: "Banker's Hill" by El Ten Eleven

Banker's Hill

In my quest to wrangle up all of the world's avant garde music, these travels have brought me to El Ten Eleven.

To begin with, I don't even understand the name of their band.

However, pressing on is needed. There was a time ten years ago when bass players were deemed a luxury rather than a necessity.

Most folks probably blame The Black Keys for that, but Local H, I'm looking at you.

El Ten Eleven is an instrumental prog rock post something or other duo, but they have neither a bass nor a guitar, but a multi-instrumentalist whose usage of looping pedals gives the sonic appearance of both bass and lead guitar playing simultaneously. This is a hard thing to wrap my head around honestly.

In the truest honesty, this record sounds to me like a post-synthwave album. It's got the water making the Grand Canyon kind of thing going on, but then hopeful melodies are played on top. Even though I've listened to this album straight through twice so far, it's hard to get a proper handle on it.

Like any great instrumental music, it takes time to get inside of what's going on. Is this an electronic record? Is this a happy record? Thankfully, I've loads of time to figure out the answer to all of these questions and probably many more.

Release: 8/10/18 Top Shelf Records ORDER FACEBOOK

LP Review: Charnel Ground's Self Titled Debut

Charnel Ground

And now for something completely different.

Here's the description of the band's name in the press release I got today...it's the listen to this band email, if you will....

"CHARNEL GROUND: an above-ground site for the putrefaction of bodies, generally human, where formerly living tissue is left to decompose uncovered."

Oh yeah... so far this reeks of putrefaction right?

I like where this is going. Right now, your friend and humble narrator is prepared to have his face melted clean off. This is going to be the kind of metal that'll blow your head clean off to the end of the auditorium.

It's going to be so blasphemous, you're going to have to ask for forgiveness  just because you now know the name of this filthy band from the Northeastern USA...

Single Review: "He Tried To Kill Me With A Forklift" by Valence

He Tried To Kill Me With A Forklift

Normally we don't do reviews of singles at Glacially Musical, but frankly, the title interested me.

As someone who's logged about 200 hours driving a forklift, this caught my eye.

Thinking back to all of my forklift experiences, the races, the stacking of boxes on the docks at my part time job... All of those months on the forklift.

It was to earn money to get to Hong Kong. There was a man who caused great suffering in my family when he murdered my father. This sort of heinous act cannot stand.

Lan Di will feel the heat of my fists as I seek my revenge....

Wait...that wasn't my life, that was Shenmue.

Album Review: "Occupation Poetry" by Signalfeide

Operation Poetry

I prefer to always be reviewing albums that are about to come out, but I don't always have that luxury.

Case in point, I've been getting emails from some bands lately that want me to check out their material. Well, I think it's safe to say that after nearly 240 different albums reviewed, people can get a good idea as to my taste and what's going to move me.

So, I get excited when I receive an email directly from the artists themselves and I have a trio of them that need to be heard. Our mission here is "Music you need to hear."

There's nothing about release dates listed there. So yes, this album is out now and can be purchased today.

The email I received from the enigmatic J.N. referred to Signalfeide as a pagan act. Really, what in the world does that mean? I mean Huntress and King Diamond, I guess are pagan metal...but this is so far removed from them...