Album Spotlight: Harouki Zombi- Objet Petit A

Ever think music was just too normal? Have I got the group for you. Harouki Zombi is the duo consisting of Orenda Fink of Azure Ray and Nina Grøttland (formerly Barnes, as in ex-wife of the of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes), and they consist of a very intriguing mix of performance art, electronic dance pop, and just plain insanity. I feel like this short EP was totally overlooked when it first came out in 2012, but I feel like in the current age where FKA Twigs is popular, I feel like they might have just been a little ahead of the curve.

That is not to say this group and FKA Twigs are doing the same thing; far from it. I feel like a lot of the beats that Twigs would use, especially on LP 1, feel reminiscent of some of the programming on this (with the exception of the Kevin Barnes produced 'Vacated Hunters', which is all of Montreal). The title track feels like if you put really weird trip hop and Madonna's 'Justify Your Love' in a blender, and then pumped it through a French language filter. The EP quickly leads you from that to a jungle drum infused track, followed by a kaleidoscopic dance track with ridiculous spoken word that sounds like a down tempo version of False Priest's 'Our Riotous Defects'. The last track, 'The Swamp Theme', sounds like an incredibly weird house track with down pitched vocals repeating the band's name and some goofy synths.

The EP also includes some remixes of the title track, but I really only think that the Deniallabs remix really does something interesting with the track and really beefs up the backing beat. Unfortunately, this is all the group has released up to this point, but I am really curious as to what they would do on a full length (their Facebook profile was last active a few years ago, so I'm probably not going to see, but who knows). The EP is still available from Polyvinyl as a double 7" on purple vinyl, so I feel like if you're curious, you should definitely pick this up.

I'm thinking of reviewing Lupe Fiasco's Drogas Light soon, and look forward to more of these album spotlights, where I'll be sharing some lesser known gems from the past that I feel could use some more attention.


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Mini Reviews: January 2017

I'm back, and I thought I might share some brief thoughts on some of the albums I've been sitting with that came out last month. Thought some of these were worth checking out. Don't think I'll be doing a lot of current reviews, but just thought I'd say my piece.




William Basinski: A Shadow in Time
Listeners familiar with Basinski will know what to expect: a grainy tape sample or piano figure looping for the duration, with very subtle changes over time producing an unmistakable feeling of ennui. However, I feel like some of the intricacies are a little more noticeable here, and are a lot easier to pick up in the first few listens. I feel like there was a missed opportunity on the tribute to David Bowie, as I thought it would have been cool to hear some interpolations or samples of his work for the loops. So far I haven't heard any, but I find some buried in there, that would definitely raise my enjoyment of this record. Still good, but not the strongest by Basinski in recent memory.



Code Orange: Forever
In my ongoing adventure into the harsher side of music, I've been dipping my toes into the metalcore or metalcore adjacent sound of Code Orange, a band from my current base in Pittsburgh. Coming into this sound from Nails and hardcore, I found this interesting and super heavy, although they do play with some melodic elements, which I was not expecting. If metalcore offers more material like this, my search into this sound will be very fruitful. I think I might learn to appreciate and recognize the intricacies of these genres eventually, even with the vocals making them very inaccessible to me initially.



The Flaming Lips: Oczy Mlody
I found this offering by the Flaming Lips to be a little disappointing. The album seemed a little uninspired, with not a whole lot going on lyrically or from a song writing perspective. The synth sounds and electronic drum samples sounded a little basic too; almost preset, which coming from a band that generally using effects ingeniously is a little disappointing. I also noticed some problems in the mix. On 'How??', the vocal levels are all over the place, and seem to disappear to nothing when some of the instrumentation swells. I think they focused too much on a thick and hazy atmosphere, and not on the songs and particulars. Can't blame this one entirely on Miley Cyrus, guys.



of Montreal: Rune Husk EP
Following up their electronic dance music informed album from last year, Innocence Reaches, of Montreal decided to go a little more experimental on this EP. This definitely doesn't feel like left overs from the last album (though 'Widowsucking' is a rework of the b-side of the same name from the band's contribution to last year's Polyvinyl 4-Track Singles series), but it does feel a bit like album filler; not bad, but really lacking an immediacy or stand out track that will keep me coming back. These tracks would probably fit well in a full album, but on their own, they keep me wanting. This reminds me a bit of thecontrollersphere (not my favorite project either), which was the EP Kevin Barnes and co. dropped between the poppy False Priest and the radically experimental Paralytic Stalks, so hopefully this is like that situation, and a harbinger for some new and really weird direction for the band.

Fred Thomas: Changer
Following up All Are Saved, one of my favorite albums of 2015, Fred Thomas continues his extremely personal and revealing solo work with a another extremely relate-able set of songs. I'm probably about a decade younger than Thomas, but his songs about getting older and still not knowing your place are definitely relate-able to me. His stories are a lot like Mark Kozelek's recent work to me, in that they're so specific, but you can really get a lot out of them on a personal level (and they're both also about one step above spoken words in most spots). I feel like anyone in their mid to late twenties should check this out, because I got a lot out of it. Fred Thomas' music reminds me if The Graduate came in album form.


So those are some of my opinions on some recent records. Are there any records that you've been listening to that you've been really hyped about? Currently, I'm digging into the Wiegedood record, and anticipating the new Lupe (which just dropped, but haven't listened yet), and the new Xiu Xiu when that drops. Not sure if I'm going to share opinions on those, but if I get some free time, why not?



"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."