This Week’s Best Albums: May 25, 2010
Secret Chiefs 3: Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 (Mimicry)
Each orbiting the musical genius of Trey Spruance, the Secret Chiefs 3 satellite groups each represent a different sonic dimension of the band’s expansive, undefinable sound. Following Traditionalists‘ full-length take on Italy’s giallo movement, Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 mostly collects seven-inch material from SC3 subgroups UR, Ishraqiyyun, and Electromagnetic Azoth.
This is far from a simple digital conversion, however; all of the material here was rerecorded for the release, with many tracks adopting different sounds and passages. UR, the Chiefs’ “suprasensory surf” squad, presents three tracks of heavily tremolo-ed rock guitar surrounded by synthesized sounds, Eastern instrumentation, and epic motifs.
“Kulturvultur,” one of the three, might be the group’s most upbeat tune since “The 4,” a sunny Ishraqiyyun tune from Book of Horizons that is irresistibly danceable. Spruance’s most Eastern-infused ensemble, Ishraqiyyun retains a masterful balance between each side of the globe, as psychedelic and electronic elements are entangled with the Indian sarangi and an electrified Persian setar.
With the diverse palette that is typical of SC3, Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 is excellent for the uninitiated, and it’s just enough to tide over diehard fans until Book of Souls finally is released later this year.
Secret Chiefs 3: Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 album preview
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Chrome Hoof: Crush Depth (Southern)
Try to imagine gnarly doom funk from another planet, performed by a nonet that is dressed like a death cult at a space disco. That imagination in practice, London’s Chrome Hoof, is every bit as dark, wild, and fun as it sounds.
The brainchild of brothers Leo and Milo Smee, Chrome Hoof is built around an intuitive rhythm section: drummer Milo’s pounding pulses and overlapping time signatures and bassist Leo’s heavy, cataclysmic riffs. With just its third album in ten years as a group, Chrome Hoof delivers its most boisterous and complete release, full of dance-floor jams as well as cinematic math rock.
Vocalist Lola Olafisoye uses a brash, regal delivery to command attention amid the organized chaos, but it’s the infectious grooves of Crush Depth that steal the show. Chrome Hoof has few performances and fewer contemporaries, so if you get a chance to check out the band live, don’t miss it. And, naturally, pick this up.
Chrome Hoof: “Crystalline”
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Melbourne resident Cornel Wilczek might be an apt representation of today’s electronic artist, calling upon buzzing effects, analog synths, and field recordings as much as guitar, live drums, and acoustic instruments.
As Qua, he combines these sounds into a fun, blippy style that can hit hard, scale it back, or get bodies moving. Q&A, his third full album, was first released back in ’08 on a local label before being distributed by Mush.
Now with its official US release, the album marks Wilczek’s progress as a musician — while adding its name to the ever-expanding list of great electro-acoustic works. Key guest spots include James Cecil (Architecture in Helsinki) and Laurence Pike (Savath & Savalas, Pivot, Triosk).
Qua: “Circles”
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Rosetta: A Determinism of Morality (Translation Loss)
With a style that is as themed to space travel as metaphysical exploration, Philadelphia’s Rosetta specializes in delayed, echoing melodies, often over steady snare cadences, that build to powerful mid-tempo metal.
Despite vocal brutality, this brand of metal owes more to post-rock guitars and hefty song durations, with certain aspects akin to Irepress and other Translation Loss label mates. Many also will draw comparisons between Rosetta and groups like Isis and Neurosis, but Rosetta retains its own special idiosyncracies.
Rosetta: “Revolve”
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Tobacco: Maniac Meat (Anticon)
Maniac Meat is another 16 tracks of warped synth hop, pop hooks, and effected vocals from Tobacco, one of the key pieces of Black Moth Super Rainbow.
Like Fucked-Up Friends, his 2008 solo debut, Maniac Meat features harpsichord-flavored electronics that are awash in hip-hop beats, vocoders, and fuzzy and glistening analog synthsizers.
Two appearances by Beck add a new dimension to Tobacco’s style, one that admittedly grows old from song to song and album to album due to similar sounds and melodies. Nonetheless, his contributions are unique, and Maniac Meat is proof that he hasn’t run out of steam.
Tobacco: “Sweatmother”
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Honorable Mentions
Black Tusk: Taste The Sin (Relapse)
Damien Jurado: Saint Bartlett (Secretly Canadian)
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band: The Wages (SideOneDummy)
Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet: Live At The Triple Door (Royal Potato Family)
Solvent: Subject to Shift (Ghostly)