Lines In Wax

TWELVE YEARS OF UNWANTED OPINION

Month: April 2013

Gets Worse – Gets Worse (2013)
grindcore

Gets Worse – Gets Worse (2013)

I’ve had this EP (or mini-album?) for a while thanks to Grindcore Karaoke, and considering it is powerviolence to the core I really enjoy it. I can never seem to shake the comedy value behind the “low” powerviolence vocals (and this is coming from a guy who loves goregrind), but sometimes the music is so awesome that it all just fits together and I totally see where the sound is coming from. The record initially comes on in a very similar vibe to Shoot The Bastard, whom Gets Worse kinda share personnel with through the medium of The Afternoon Gentlemen. The drum sound is very similar, but after an small settling in period, Gets Worse takes on a whole new violent form of its own; crushing, grinding power at it’s purest! The guitar sound is one of the crunchiest I’ve come across in some time, the bass is Repulsion-grade fuzz and the drums are sprightly and bright enough to soar over the mix. The vocals are a dual-attack of powerviolence lows and more typical screamy highs, which keeps things interesting enough for me. Mad props (yo) to the label here, the fantastically-named Evil Purple Bastard, as this 10″ only cost me £7 with £2.80 postage, but the postage label reads it cost over £5 to send. Having been fucked in the arse at the Post Office many times myself, that got me right in the feels. I would recommend this record to anyone who is into heavier hardcore or grindcore music. You can stream the entire thing for free below, so there’s no excuse, tuck in my pretties! It’s strictly limited to 200 physical copies though, so if you want one I’d act fast. Evil Purple Bastard sells the purple version that I have here but if you buy directly from the band you can get your hands on a red version. Gets Worse by Gets Worse

Insane Clown Posse – The Carnival of Carnage (1992)
hip hop

Insane Clown Posse – The Carnival of Carnage (1992)

This is where it all began! Well, not all of it, but as far the Dark Carnival thing goes and the Joker’s Card legacy shit, it all began here. ICP’s debut record is like nothing else in their history and it remains to this day one of my favourite records by them. It possesses an extremely amateur mix by an at-the-time fresh-faced Mike Clark, and shows the group before they had fully adjusted to their new Insane Clown personas. The whole thing might be dressed up with a carnival vibe, but for me this record is much more Inner City than it is Insane Clown. Later records explored a much more alternative backdrop of sounds, but Carnival of Carnage fits in unusually with the more typical approach of hip hop in the early 90s, with heavy overtones of gangster rap and old-school, awkward-to-listen-to sound collages. There are a lot of themes here that were quickly dropped as ICP gradually became more mainstream. For example, there are more misogynistic overtones present here than on any other material the band has made. The text inside the booklet also calls (rather brutally) for the all-out murder of the children of rich people, and incites some sort of crazy revolt where the ghettos will rise up and take over. Despite what “The Carnival” turned out to be, a lot of Juggalos don’t seem to remember it’s rather childish and worryingly genocidal roots. But, let’s not forget that Violent J and Shaggy were basically kids when this record was made. CoC gets off to a slow start. There are two (yes!) intro tracks before the first songs comes in proper on track three. “First Day Out” is one of my favourite rap songs ever, and tells the tale of going out on a date after being in prison for a while. “Red Neck Hoe” is an ICP classic, and has possibly the most inspired chorus ever; “Bitch, you’s a hoe, and hoe you’s a bitch; everybody know you’s a funky funky bitch”. It even features a rather awful contribution from either Esham or Jumpsteady (I honestly can’t tell the difference here). “Is That You?” is one of the stand-out tracks on the album, despite featuring Kid Rock (“I drink Faygo it’s only a buck-ten, I’ma pour it on ya tits when we fuck-en’”). If you like old-school hip hop but consider ICP to be an absolute joke (which to be fair, they have always strived to be) then this record could be your only chance at liking them. It’s a bit shaky compared to other genre greats from that era but it also contains some amazing amateur rhymes (“I’m chillin’, I’m illin’, with my guts all over the ceilin’”) that more than make up for it’s crappy production. Self-released on Psychopathic Records. “Ma’afuckers think I’m sick? You ever seen a bitch take a shit?”

Burial – Truant / Rough Sleeper (2012)
electronic

Burial – Truant / Rough Sleeper (2012)

Welcome to what is quite possibly one of the most chilled out things in the world. I’m not talking that lovey-dovey “ambient” chill out shit that comes in box sets of 5 CDs, I’m talking about modern, chillax-to-the-max experimental dub. After being recommended Burial by about 40,000 different people I decided to actually check out some of his tunes on Spotify and I was an instant convert. One thing I don’t agree with here though is the insistence on the dubstep tag; sure this will appeal to thousands of dubstep fans but I do not think that it really falls in with the genre. It is simply too laid back and experimental. “Truant” is a 12 minute masterpiece of sonic sub-bass bliss that simultaneously shakes my house and gives my brain the cerebral break it so desperately needs. What more can you want from music? Switch it on, switch yourself off. Job done. The B side, “Rough Sleeper”, is a bit different. It is a bit longer, clocking in at just under 15 minutes, but it seems to be comprised of several songs (or should I say “vibes”) mashed together rather than one 15 minute long trip. It’s still goddamn awesome though! This 12″ was put out December past by Hyperdub. Check it out in the link below (although it won’t do the sub-bass justice).

Stebmo – Stebmo (2009)
jazz

Stebmo – Stebmo (2009)

I had the shock of my life when I saw a tweed jacket wearing Steve Moore perform as Stebmo in 2009, supporting Earth in The Croft, Bristol. What the hell was I watching? To be fair, who knew? And whilst that jazzy-jam of distorted electric piano and drums doesn’t sound anything like the Stebmo record, it was entirely responsible for my purchase of it. It took me a while to get around the idea of whether I liked Stebmo or not, but in the end I threw caution to the wind and bought the album. Way to push the boat out! Like the live show, the Stebmo record is primarily piano and organ driven, although there is a veritable smorgasbord of other instruments and performers chipping in over the whole record. One minute it’s elevator music, the next an up-beat jaunt that would be the perfect soundtrack for walking through a big city, and then onto slower, more rousing and thought provoking pieces. This record has it all! I don’t really know how to class this album, and I guess if it doesn’t class easily then I shouldn’t try to, although Discogs has it listed as Avant-garde jazz. Hmm. Out on Invada Records (the Bristol-based one) and as far as I can tell, all the copies are clear vinyl. Also, since some cunt stole my fucking Cattle Decapitation 7″ in a bogus trade, the Stebmo record is now by far the clearest clear record I own. That shit is like fucking glass.

Björk – Debut (1993)
electronic pop

Björk – Debut (1993)

Björk has always been one of those artists I’ve always been interested in but never got around to properly checking out. With my recent upgrade to Spotify Premium, I now have easy access to thousands of records I would otherwise overlook. Sure, I’ve always downloaded music, but typing “Björk” into Spotify and pressing play is easier than researching a band and then finding links to the “best” record, downloading the .rar, importing into iTunes, yadda yadda yadda. Hence Bjork happened, after like eight years of being put off. A few weeks ago my girlfriend Jo buggered off to New York for a week and left me in the house all alone. With absolutely nothing better to do with my time, I consumed my body weight in fried chicken and out-done my personal best in the consumption of bowls and blunts. One particular evening I smoked so much of “the good” that I pressed play on Björk’s Spotify page and let it run for five hours. What I did within that time I’m not entirely sure, but I imagine a large portion of it was spent staring at the wall. I decided soon after to buy some Björk records. Go figure. I started at the beginning, with Debut. It is no secret to most that Björk is absolutely fucking batshit insane, so by her standards, Debut is as tame as a fat Persian cat loaded to the gills on catnip. There isn’t any breakbeat here, or any enormously 90s dance vibes. There is a smattering of jazz and alternative instrumentation, even some dubby tracks and some with the old house feel. But what leads the whole circus is Björk’s somewhat retarded and Welsh-sounding – not to mention eternally mesmerising – voice. It literally sounds like the “special kid” has been given access to a million dollar budget and a high end studio crammed with all the musicians in the world. And I mean that in the nicest way possible. I might be a bit late to the party, but Björk, I think I’m in love with you.

King Midas Sound – Aroo (2013)
electronic reggae, dub & soul

King Midas Sound – Aroo (2013)

This 12″ marks my first Record Store Day purchase, even though it was accidental. I decided to visit Cardiff on Record Store Day this year, which was fairly disastrous, but I ended up in Catapult browsing where I picked up another King Midas 12″. When I took it to the counter to pay for it, the chap at the desk kindly informed me that the band had put another 12″ out on Ninja Tune just for Record Store Day. When I looked up they had a wall behind the counter covered in the shit that had been released for today only, which was a lot more understated than other shops in the area, which had queues out the door and half way around the fucking city. I’m glad I picked this up, because otherwise I would have missed my chance and have to pay hipsters on Discogs extortionate amounts for a copy, but this is definitely more of a completists item for the King Midas enthusiast. Don’t get me wrong, I love the ‘Sound, but the reason I love KMS so much is because of the haunting vocals, and thoughtful lyrics. The A-side, “Aroo” is enormously poppy, unlike anything I’ve heard from King Midas in the past, the usual choppy dub beats being led by an odd, distorted, almost guitar-like lead and fresh female vocals. Which is all well and good (not to mention, huge sounding), but it doesn’t leave much time for the Midas dubs, yo, which is what I’m all about. The standard vocals burst in every now and then like an afterthought, if anything just to “keep it Midas”. Side B and it’s “Version” are much more gloomy. A heavy synth leads a mystifying track that is much more on par with the King Midas Sound that I love. All in all, not a bad pick up, but not maybe something I would have rushed into buying if it wasn’t a limited edition. There is no record of this on Discogs etc. yet so I can’t give you a valuation (Monday 22nd update – now there is), but I paid £6.99 for it, which was probably a bit steep, but helps your ol’ bricks and mortar record store and all that. I guess that this price will rise a bit when the record becomes less easily available.