Misc. Day – Lest We Forget
By the decade mark of albums, 10 in any form means more than just a small milestone. For Xiu Xiu’s (Shoo Shoo) tenth studio record, FORGET is a step into the slippery slope of approachable for the experimental sound that still borders on the occult and gothic at times.
The vocals in particular from Jamie Stewart have this interesting timbre, almost as if they were being bounced directly from the coffin or mausoleum walls. Chilling at times, but even from the first moments of FORGET, Stewart is recognizable as a vocalist on “The Call.”
It took some time to realize the symbiotic nature of the production and the vocals, they need each other to survive. The production which is thankful from Stewart on guitar, synths, organ, and programming, Angela Seo on the synths, organ, and percussion, and Shayna Dunkleman on percussion, organ, and synth. Inside is this jumbled mess from Xiu Xiu that is easier to love than originally thought.
Especially when the track “Wondering” starts to pop into the mind, giving a sense of that pop experimentation to a bubbling overflow. There is this tense nature to most of the tracks presented on FORGET, but “Wondering” is more carefree and gives nature that is desperate for in-the-moment of being.
The lyrics from Stewart describe, “Alive is anything, alight to anything. Denied of everything, surprised with everything,” while the production becomes golden and glorious to the ears. Rather than a damp corridor with eyes on the back of the neck, “Wondering” is seemingly akin to celebration and survival.
Sulking back into that tactic of hiding away, “Hay Choco Bananas” is creeping along and subtle. The gentle keys and underlying bass is manageable until the earth splits beneath the listener and these pillars of sound erupt from the ground. Becoming similar to an effigy of the ears, Xiu Xiu is this warping monster that can switch their methods and form in seconds. They create on FORGET and especially throughout their records, a sense of prolific atmosphere building as if they were creating other worlds and dimensions for the audience to witness.
The title track, “Forget” is the beginnings of a futuristic Spaghetti Western where dust and layers of grime surround the instrumental. The steam that emerges from sections resemble robotic nature in the first generation of machines, lacking in the dexterity and free-will nature. Much of “Forget” in the first moments are on this track where gunshots ring out in the shadows of churches and palm trees.
The ponchos and dusters that are well worn not only make Xiu Xiu appear as this antagonist but the screaming chorus that repeatedly shouts, “forget, forget, forget” becomes a mantra. FORGET as a record of 10 tracks and nearly 44 minutes packs copious amounts of noise into a gracious package.
When the final tracks ring out and the ears burn from mechanical chaos, Xiu Xiu stands almost unfazed. FORGET is a confusing masterpiece, an excellent set-piece, and an enjoyable way to meet Xiu Xiu.
Listen To FORGET Here!!! – BandCamp/Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
SUNDAY SAMPLER // (Playlist) “05/23/2021″
Listen Here – Spotify
“A playlist of tracks that were featured on MattsMusicMine.com from the week of May 17th – 23rd. From Reviews to Streams, never miss a track with these playlists that are uploaded every single Sunday till I drop dead.”
Featuring: Lukah, Kenny Segal, TORRES, Wormlight, MIKE, Donald Byrd, The Alchemist, Earl Sweatshirt, Nothing, White Flowers, Messa, Horsey, King Krule, Undo K From Hot, AKAI SOLO, Navy Blue, Peter Cat Recording Co., Pi’erre Bourne
Track List: Black Coffins, Maroon Floors, Limited Daps, Don’t Go Putting Wishes In My Head, Nightmother, Crystal Ball, Miss Kane, Woman Of The World, Loose Change, The Dead Are Dumb, Within A Dream, Snakeskin Drape, Seahorse, Empty AM, Password Incest, No Doubt, Clown On The 22nd Dance Floor, Groceries
New Music – First Cuts
In the absence of the digital void that Death Grip leaves on the internet, luckily there are still visionaries like Zach Hill, Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos fame, and Robby Moncrieff from The Advantage that give bombastic applications of sound.
Their newest three-piece project, Undo K From Hot is an electronic and glitchy MOAB that breaks apart and strips more than it builds. The debut record, G.A.S. Get A Star spends the entire 32 minutes and 48 seconds in a bubble of cosmic elemental reactions that are more a shock to the system than a sense of healing.
Opening with “Ziplock Quilts That Kill From Hot,” there is already this strange nature that underlies on the record. If combining Hill, Reinhart, and Moncrieff wasn’t enough to give interest in the performance, Undo K From Hot spends much of the time on “Ziplock Quilts That Kill From Hot” as a continuous shouting match with a mirror. It becomes harder and harder to isolate single sections to analyze and is instead matched better with just continuously looking at the whole elephant in the room.
Other moments like “Incomplete Spanks” are as if the Uncut Gems title track and speed had a child. Twisted with these strangely moving and warped synths that are almost inspiriting at first, the percussion bursts through the door as a steamroller attached by kerosine.
The technical playstyle and ability are there, giving Undo K From Hot concrete foundations to stand upon. But as soon as the audience gains some traction and footing, Undo K From Hot is there again to sweep the leg out from under.
G.A.S. Get A Star follows this same method on “Empty AM” which uses slicing metal on metal to give an instrumental. The percussion is actually quite approachable, but as the track melts on with this infernal machine of unstoppable proportions, “Empty AM” loses sight of itself. The track devolves into sporadic whispers and shouts that match with a constant punch-and-go tactic.
The best way to describe Undo K From Hot here is through the hammer-and-anvil tactics, a crushing and constantly moving monster of oppressing sound. G.A.S. Get A Star is engaging throughout though, and really challenges the listener in these moments of nearly freeform electronica.
When the final notes spawn and the studio is left in ashes, Undo K From Hot gives insight into this aggressive and metallic world. It takes time to warm up to, but G.A.S. Get A Star is also impossible to ignore.
Listen To G.A.S. Get A Star Here!!! – BandCamp/Spotify
STREAMING // (Video) Blu Anxxiety – “Black Mass Romance”
Listen/Watch Here – Youtube
STREAMING // (Album) AKAI SOLO X Navy Blue – “True Sky”
Listen Here – BandCamp
Produced By: Navy Blue
Mixed + Mastered By: Wavy Bagels
Track List: Ruin On My Watch, John Wick, Red Waves, Deadass, No Doubt, Keep My Poise!!!, Ocean Hue Hours, Heavy Sigh, Incursio Fur, Twice Twilight, Wound Cries, Willing, Neo New York, World’s End
STREAMING // (Album) Knxwledge. – “HX.18”
Listen Here – BandCamp
Track List: jstrynafinishtro, torn, lala4luv_, bdydwn, me&yew[2013], icekold, onmymind[X2]_, dowithoututro
STREAMING // (Video) Horsey – “Seahorse”
Listen/Watch Here – Youtube
Featuring: King Krule
Animation By: Jack Marshall
Produced By: Sorority + Ross Fortune
Mixed + Engineered By: Ross Fortune
Mastered By: Fergal Davis
STREAMING // (Album) Messa – “Feast For Water”
Listen Here – BandCamp
Track List: Naunet, Snakeskin Drape, Leah, The Seer, She Knows, Tulsi, White Stains, Da Tariki Tariquat
STREAMING // (Album) White Flowers – “Within A Dream”
Listen Here – BandCamp
Co-Produced By: Ali Chant
Track List: Within A Dream, Blue May, You Caught Me, Didn’t Want To Have To Do It
Classic Day – Taxi Driver
Stomping through the streets in hotpants and silk stockings, the smell of cigarettes and overflow from afternoon bars collide with the infectious sounds of what New York City in the 1970s would encapsulate. Businessmen walking side-by-side to the glam of street hustlers that resides by the platform stilts and mood rings.
This is the status where Donald Byrd’s 1972 record, Street Lady becomes an obsession to the ears and gives way to becoming one of the more progressive funk records with moments of jazz injected into it. Opening with “Lansana’s Priestess,” the curtain made of mostly bellbottoms and velvet is an entryway to this whimsical world where the sun sets and nightfall is soon to come.
The summer of loves and eras of loose freewill was at an end, now the time of more Avant-productions was starting to show themselves with flutes, horns, and more rapid percussion. Byrd who was exceptional on the trumpet forms a coalition with Roger Glenn on the flute and Harvey Mason on the drums. Together, this is a trifecta that perfectly wraps their gracious grasp around the look and feel of the 1970s.
Nearly picturesque as a funk record, the jazz elements while still being released on Blue Note are a step away from the conformity and true fundamentals of sound. The way the guitars from David T. Walker warp and are infused with fuzz give the bass from Chuck Rainey a soapbox to live upon. Really the entire ensemble on Street Lady is a pure gift of overarching grace and beauty.
The following track “Miss Kane” is the flash into the nightlife of a major metropolitan area where those same suits and ties are traded for loose-fitting dress shirts and wide-brimmed hats. At the epicenter of culture, Street Lady is a walk through the busiest dissections of the hippest sections of town.
Almost like a reflection of the times, “Miss Kane” is a rapidly flying mistress whose entertainment comes from the sensual and unchained style that the band adopts behind Byrd. Almost as if he was a master of organization, “Miss Kane” becomes a personal favorite for the lightning speed and ability to shift gears into a world where disco and funk can blend into a smooth cocktail.
Not so much an Old Fashioned, and more of a glass of wine at the end of the late-night, “Woman Of The World,” is the sun returning to those concrete wildernesses. Instead of opting for more of the beauty rather than the ugliness of a jungle, “Woman Of The World” is a lush experience that gives a breather to Street Lady as the night becomes conquered by the dawn.
Over six tracks and through 42-minutes, Street Lady is a rejuvenation of the era where most of the culture class came from. As a snapshot into the 1970s, Donald Byrd takes the audience by the hand and is a gentle lead into a harsh and detached world.
Listen To Street Lady Here!!! – Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
STREAMING // (Album) Nothing – “Tired Of Tomorrow”
Listen Here – BandCamp
Celebrate Five Years!
Track List: Fever Queen, The Dead Are Dumb, Vertigo Flowers, ACD (Abcessive Compulsive Disorder), Nineteen Ninety Heaven, Curse Of The Sun, Eaten By Worms, Everyone Is Happy, Our Plague, Tired Of Tomorrow
STREAMING // (Video) The Alchemist – “Loose Change”
Listen/Watch Here – Youtube
Featuring: Earl Sweatshirt
Directed By: Lonewolf
Mixed By: Phillippe Weiss
Mastered By: Joe Laporta
STREAMING // (Video) MIKE – “Crystal Ball”
Listen/Watch Here – Youtube
Song Produced By: DJ Blackpower
Directed, Shot, + Edited By: Ryosuke Tanzawa
Additional Filming + Production: Sean Gordon-Loebl
Production: Naavin Karimbux
Title Cards + Disco Ball Animation: Abraham El Makawy
THIS IS A LIST OF THE MOST RECENT STREAMS...
The complete list of all past streams can be accessed here as well
(Click Here)
MATT'S MUSIC MINE - MERCH FOR SALE
VIDEO REEL 2
LIVE PHOTOGRAPHY – JESUS PIECE AT BABY’S ALL RIGHT, DECEMBER 6TH, 2022
SUNDAY SAMPLER // (Playlist) “12/04/2022″
(Track) Jake Mason Trio – “Rib Eye”
(Video) Lightning Bolt – “Dead Cowboy @ TAICOCLUB 2014”
(Video) The Velvet Underground – “After Hours”
(Video) Mac Miller – “10 Years Of You”
(Video) A$AP Rocky – “Same Problems”
The complete list of all past streams can be accessed here as well
(Click Here)