10"

Artists: GIRAFFES? GIRAFFES! and Goddard

Release Date: April 30, 2013

Label: Boiler Room Records

10” is a split featuring one track from math-rock duo GIRAFFES? GIRAFFES!, and two from the genre-blending group Goddard. The first song, “In the Middle of the Night Someone Tore Off the Ceiling and Sucked Me Into the Sky / Before My Eyes Began to Boil I Saw Billions of Tiny Webs Connecting Everything” is a ten minute tour through headspaces ranging from acrobatic upbeat punk, to desolate reverb-washed riffing. At times, it seems like there were too many ideas for any one section to truly grow but, as an overall piece, the pacing was good, with satisfying transitions from foreboding to exuberance or quiet to chaos. The sheer volume of ideas and the ability of the band to transition between them with ease are impressive, but at no point is instrumental athleticism the focus. In a style that’s been known to put complexity above all else, “In The Middle of the Night” is noteworthy because GIRAFFES? GIRAFFES! use their extreme instrumental talent only to develop the track to its fullest potential.

Goddard presents an interesting mix of musical styles. They sit on the mathier side of post-punk, and two versatile vocalists help keep their songs interesting throughout. On “Midwest 95”, a light opening and sarcastically vivid lyrics take a sudden detour into a half-time jam and repetitive, building shouts. “Thrush” has a similar quality, with a dark, brooding section suddenly becoming completely undone. In both songs, there’s a lack of buildup to the more intense sections, and they feel a little awkward in context. However, the abruptness isn’t enough to take away from the atmosphere of the songs, and in some ways adds the aggressive energy. Like their partners on the split, Goddard know their ways around their instruments, and use this to flesh out far more than two tracks worth of ideas. 10” is, by its nature, a release that will be appreciated by lovers of the rhythmically complex, but it’s never bogged down by the talent of its musicians and it has a wealth of content and a high replay value that anyone will appreciate.

-Alex D'Alfonso

Epigram / Microgram (CZ)

Artist: Leo Chadburn

Release Date: April 2, 2013

Label: Library of Nothing

Epigram / Microgram (CZ) is an exploration by Leo Chadburn (better known by pseudonym Simon Bookish) into the capabilities of the CZ-101, a modest little Casio synthesizer that can be found online for about $200. Each song is based on a melodic experiment and fleshed out through the use of the CZ-101, which is the only sound source used. Because of this approach, Epigram / Microgram (CZ) has a pleasant feeling of experimentation for the sake of experimentation; not every track is outstanding, but a sense of wonderment and joyful discovery permeates each sonic expedition.

Due to the nature of its writing, the majority of Epigram / Microgram (CZ) is shapeless. The ideas at work are almost entirely melodic and harmonic, and rhythmic precision is often abandoned entirely. A formula that’s used throughout is one synth voice playing a theme while others will either play in a completely different tempo, or create a background of clicks, pops, and buzzes. Unfortunately this form can become predictable and a little stale, but one thing these songs excel at is creating a vivid setting in the listener’s head. “Intercontinental” starts with a rapidly shaking atonal noise that fades into the background, sometimes disappearing entirely, only to return in a subtly different form. It evokes a feeling like drifting just outside the atmosphere of a lush planet, with the occasional company of a satellite that is buzzing through orbit.

The only track that doesn’t dabble in slow-moving ambience is the stellar “Difficult (Let’s Go Off the Cliff),” which sounds like it’s trying to defy the rest of the album as aggressively as possible. Driving bass synths growl and roar like beasts locked in combat, juxtaposed against delicate waves of music-box impersonation. It’s a standout on the album; it’s jarring, soothing, claustrophobic, and airy all at once.

Overall, Epigram / Microgram (CZ) sounds exactly like what it is; a collection of experiments that are about the question more than they are about the answer. Nearly every track has standout moments, but it seems like these are happy coincidences as a result of exploring a musical concept as thoroughly as possible. That’s not to say the album is bad by any means; it’s an extremely pleasant listen, and the overall feeling of experimenting and fiddling is simply fun. Epigram / Microgram (CZ) is a good album to play as background ambience while working. It’s unobtrusive and atmospheric, while inspiring listeners to buckle down and use their brains to do incredible things and explore the ideas they haven’t even thought of yet.

-Alex D'Alfonso

Clubhouse Split

Artist: Emily Reo, Yohuna, Brown Bread and MoonLasso
Release Date: March 12, 2013
Label: Crash Symbols


Clubhouse Split is a four-way split between dream-pop artists Emily Reo, Yohuna, Brown Bread, and MoonLasso, each of whom contributes two songs. The songs aren't organized in any particular way, but the album flows well and there are no jarring transitions between tracks. At the same time, that's not to say that the songs are all so similar that they could be by the same artist. All four women take heavily from the usual dream-pop palette of shimmery synths and heavy reverb, yet each has a unique set of tools and preferences that are easy to pick up on.

Emily Reo's two tracks make use of glossy programmed drums and clean synths, with an underlying, nearly-hidden layer of psychedelic background noise. Her album opener, “Peach”, starts so clean that it's reminiscent of chiptune, and slowly comes more and more alive, until it's become a storm of satellite beeps and distorted synthesizer wails. Yohuna's warm, analog-sounding synths on “Creep Date” and “Westerlies” bring Boards of Canada to mind, while creating a free and shapeless feeling. On the former, it's ominous, but on the latter, it's comforting.

Clubhouse Split feels like a conversation between four people who've just met and immediately become good friends. While each person uses their two tracks to represent themselves as fully as possible, they take to each other so naturally that their similarities and differences shine equally.

-Alex D'Alfonso