Reviews

Various Artists - Reno: Where Dreams Come to Die
Mastered at Fuzzbox by Brian Redmond Produced by Tom Sedition Released on Sedition Records

Reviewer -George Chen

This compilation showcases some of Reno's underground punk bands. Rumors of a healthy punk scene have been circulating for some time, but it has no obvious geographic landmarks. Like most small towns, the curious have to dig under rocks to find the infrastructure. Headgrenade's "Living in Hell" is somewhat poppy-punk without being at all like the East Bay bubblegum style. Vae Victis are sludgy and screamy, a little touch of brutality. This Computer Kills (not to be confused with This Machine Kills from Santa Barbara or This Robot Kills from Michigan) attempt to put some melody into "Discompute," but it ends up a mess of what could be college rock and excess screaming, like Still Life with a hippie guitarist. It's a pretty weak link, though "Skeletor" is a little more coherent. The Shookups "Deadboy Strut" is more like Stray Cats than Dead Boys. The mighty Iron Lung, former members of Gob, scream about function and form while barreling through intense blast beats and tight time changes. They seem to use medical charts as lyric sheets. Redrum are most reminiscent of old Gilman punk, fast and pissed but also skilled. What this comp is missing is the humor and irony prevalent in a lot of West Coast post-hardcore. It's partly the genre that they are playing in, but one also gets the feeling that this commitment level comes from a sense of place and frustration and the need to find a release. At least they've found each other.

Contact: www.seditionrecords.cjb.net

Gang Wizard - El Cortez Buy Y\'A Drink
Recorded by Jake Anderson, Christopher Breedon, Mike Landucci

Reviewer -George Chen

Gang Wizard has been perpetrating its particular sound making practice for nearly a decade. This release assures its place in the cosmology of noise music with its unheard of concentration of record label affiliations; this CD is a co-release between Blackbean and Placenta, Deathbomb arc, ()Dial, Ecstatic Peace, Morc, Priapus, Old Gold, SunShip, Unread, and White Tapes. "It's Alright(Wonderful)" starts off in a sort of stoner jam haze until the screaming kicks in. It devolves further into a backwoods stomp, wiring indie rock clichés into a loose diagram of psyche landing patterns. "Fucking Rosie" has a stop-start jerkiness to it that, though improvised, seems affected. "I Am a Snarling Ocelot" starts off with a pretty toy piano and chimes, and one hopes that they'll stick with this simplicity. Shoddy recording a la Harry Pussy and an omnivorous taste for experimentation cover up their somewhat pedestrian starting points. Recalling the Homestead Records bands of the late '80s, Gang Wizard still believe in the value of the guitar solo, a form that seems to have gone out with Dinosaur Jr. One gets the feeling that they fell into this lo-fi recording aesthetic. It adds layers of grit and grime that may not be present otherwise, and then they'd be fogeys playing guitar rock. Which is fine since few people have the stomach for pure noise. It's just better when they're not trying so hard to weird you out. "California" digs into your neural paths with its insistent hook, much as you might try to remove it. "Sending Nine Now" sounds like Crispy Ambulance in a blender with Electric Eels. The inherent goofiness of the bonus songs makes everything forgivable.

Contact: bbptc@ix.netcom.com

Mochipet - Mochipet CDR
Released on Btrendy Records

Reviewer -Amanda Scotese

The randomness of Mochipet CDR shines with brilliant mediocrity, "brilliant mediocrity" meaning that the songs don't demonstrate loads of musical skill, but instead flow with the amazing and uninhibited cerebral connections of David Wang, a Taiwanese producer and DJ living outside of LA. Wang's CDR won't make you dance or ponder the abstractions of the world, but his amalgamation of Orbital-like breaks, hip-hop interspersed with a diddling banjo, and even a sample of a vintage voice proclaiming "Super Chicken" should be experienced by enthusiasts of experimental electronica. The first five songs consist of chopped-up beats that shift with synaptic randomness. The aptly titled "Broke Breaking Beats" sounds like the underworld of Super Mario Bros. with its dark bass line and dripping sounds, and then the following track, "Beautiful Belonious Bits," lifts us back up to the earth with a sunny operatic voice amidst skimmed-down beats. Then suddenly with "Chicken Guiro" samples of many buck-buck-bucks create a chorus of chickens on speed. The following tracks leap into dirty distortion, ghetto beats, and banjos. Yes, banjos. All in all, these unlikely combinations seem more random than meaningful which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Mochipet's stream of consciousness experiment jolts from mood to mood and genre to genre, lacking any possibility of a glue holding them together. He whirls through maybe what electronic music would in fact be like if it were to sniff glue: Mochipet CDR is not too well-thought out though it is fun, and has little short-term memory. But unlike glue sniffing, you should definitely try it out because his eclectic combination of memories, inspirations, impulses whatever it is that is plucked from Mochipet's mind along with expertly handled rhythms, mixes, and sound experiments prove that Mochipet CDR is not just plainly mediocre, but brilliantly mediocre. Bummer that it's not on vinyl, because DJs could do great things with it.

Contact: me@mochipet.com

Languis - Unithematic
Mixed at Antenna One by Languis and Michael Morgan Released on Pehr Label

Reviewer -George Chen

This is a pleasant excursions into electronic and live instrumentation by the Los Angeles duo of M. Chloca and A. Cohen. Opener "a bridge to a closer view" mixes little blips with a playful guitar sample and upbeat drums, closer to Euro pop or Stereolab than the minimalist electronics prevalent in the West Coast. Languis have less techno in them than a need to provide their melodies with beat accompaniment. Muttered vocals and light vibes construct "Far Away Days." Live bass and canned electronics sound more like Art of Noise mixed with Vince Guraldi. "Snowflakes" breaks into a Neu-like drone and settles into building tones, which shows more alliance between the new and old schools of experimental music. Though their format and style are similar to neighbor Dntel, there is less emotional resonance than with the project of the former emo-boy. Languis' experiments feel lightweight and transparent at times. Songs with acoustic guitar and singing may not have much going on even if they were played straight. Languis seem to be compensating for simplistic songwriting by buttressing their analog creations with technological supports. That doesn't mean it's unpleasant, the record is very pleasant. It's just the subtle difference between “pretty" and "beautiful," and all name drops to Pole, Oval, and Tortoise can't change that.

Contact: www.simballrec.com

Total Shutdown - Reflection
Released on Thin the Herd

Reviewer -George Chen

Having witnessed this band grow into itself over the past two years, it's hard to sum up what they do in words. It's almost as hard to do on vinyl as well, but this one-sided 12" attempts to redress that. First off, it's a beautiful artifact on clear red vinyl with a silk-screened bloodbath on the blank side. The matter of the groove itself is also something of minor import that is best left unspoken. "Intro" starts off with a cascade of bleating horns and drum improv build up before exploding into "One," not the Metallica song, but a moment of TS clarity amidst its happy mess. Bob Linder's vomitous vocals are accompanied by harmonica before the song implodes on itself. "Top Gun" starts off with Pete Nguyen's drum count and culminates in an orgy of Linder's screaming and Paul Costuros' (formerly of Fisticuffs Bluff and Knuckle Brothers) guitar and keyboard plunking. "Fighting Witches" is the closest this record comes to a "hit," hardcore tropes subverted with Nate Denver alternating between a cookie monster growl and babbling in a tearful breakdown while Linder screeches: "I got a job!" Moments like this bring to mind the glories of California hardcore like Black Flag and Germs, only filtered through a postmodern art school lens and the chaotic lessons of the Gravity Records' school. There is something pure in their screaming stance, as much as you can read pure irony into it -- it's still an expulsion of something. It doesn't make much sense as a "record" in the traditional sense, the sense that demands production values, song structures and recoupable investment. This is a piece of art the band has produced for the world, it's more of an endorsement of their live show than anything.

Contact: www.totalshutdown.com