Music Blogs

Songs Of Green Pheasant: I can't say where I was when the shoegazing phenomenon hit. In the mid '90s, transatlantic trips were the norm (for reporters like myself) as the major labels offered their teat, airline tickets and hotels to any aspiring journalist with an assignment on one of their hot Britpop possibilities. Electronic music from the fields of Warp, Astralwerks and Ninjatune was also wonderfully fresh, and I often traveled on my own dime to arrive in London, lack of sleep and a noon interview with Aphex Twin on my plate.

One of the best bands to come out of England's mid '90s renaissance was Swervedriver. Led by Adam Franklin, a wiz kid guitarist whose vocals recalled mad grumbles at the foot of the Buddha, Swervedriver was a shoegazing band with balls. Other bands twirled in and out of the shoegazing camp as well: Lush, Slowdive, Chapterhouse, and of course, the mighty My Bloody Valentine creating music to swerve, spin and collapse to. Mind over matter for sure, this music propelled your senses, booty optional.

Along with a slew of newcomers inspired (or not) by that initial shoegazing flash, Songs Of Green Pheasant are contenders worth watching. The band's "King Friday" (from Gyllyng Street) wraps your head in rays of light seemingly refracted through stained glass windows, the song's plodding beat as drugged and dead as a deer post-headlights. Guitars shudder like Kevin Shields' nocturnal emission, vocals lazily flex over what sounds like a chorus of banjos and Brian Wilson intentions. Suddenly, a Pink Floyd noise shower drops down, and the beat kicks into double time. Our little shoegazers show some boogie fever, after all, but the sleepy vocals and spiraling guitars never let us forget that initial sweet ennui.

From the Fat Cat records bio: "Marking a departure from the 4-track folk-haze of the 2005 debut album, Gyllyng Street is Songs Of Green Pheasant's most adventurous and accomplished work to date, seeing the artist (Duncan Sumpner) take a big step forwards whilst retaining the isolated individuality that marks them out as unique. Moving further away from folk song-form towards a richly atmospheric and ambitious modus, heavily tinged with the influence of early ‘90s indie, it was recorded on 8-track with a richer, clearer production, and marked the first record to see SOGP come close to operating as a ‘proper' band rather than the work of one man multiplying himself via overdubs.

Word has it that Devendra Banhart is a huge fan of Songs Of Green Pheasant, but that is absolutely no reason to ignore this major release from a small indie label.

"King Friday"

Mars Volta Recalibrated: If you haven't gotten enough of the Mars Volta's herculean prog rock, strap Calibration on for size. It's primarily the same band, with a few additions. Our cast includes:  Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (guitar, synthesizer),  Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), John Frusciante (vocals), Juan Alderete (bass),  Money Mark (keyboards, synthesizer), Thomas Pridgen (drums), Tina Rodriguez (vocals), Adrian Terrazas Gonzales  (woodwinds, percussion), Marcel Rodriguez Lopez (drums, synths, percussion), and Sara Gross (saxophone).

Calibration (Is Pushing Luck And Key Too Far) is the debut rock/electronic solo record outing from Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and it should satisfy fans of Mars Volta manic-strosity flavorings, but with a twist. Omar uses synths and samplers in addition to typical band flavors to propel his freak shindig deep into your darkest places.

"We both are into hard drum breaks, heavy electronic music and pressing records old school analog style, on all kinds of rare dope colored vinyl," says longtime Lopez friend Nate "N8loc" Shimizu of N2O Records, the label responsible for releasing Calibration. "Omar's concept of the two-part album is an original artistic piece that fit perfectly into the sound we've been breaking. Look out for some all-star producers and artists on the two albums."

Pretty dope, huh? The title track sounds like Santana escaping from a pack of delirious crackheads, Quicksilver Messenger Service spun backwards for demonic desires, or Kanye West's worst nightmare of losing an Album of the Year Grammy to some aging jazz pianist. Oh, that really did happen. Anyway, "Calibration" features crazy lyrics about "smoking crack" and "the buffalo you shoot" against a frenetic spew of nearly unlistenable guitar loops and jack-hammering computer malfunctions.          

"Calibration"