Helios Creed~ Planet X
http://www.sendspace.com/file/w46w0i
Helios Creed has a favorite schtick for his album covers -- deliberately cheesy science fiction images. The giant shrimp with cowboy hat, bandana, and sixshooters on the cover of the 1994 release Planet X is one of the more fun, playful ones. Inside, listeners will find more of the grinding, intentionally discordant sounds typical of his grunge/industrial fusion, with the sci-fi theme carrying through into the titles, from "Dog Star" to "Kurt Zombie" to "First Encounter." Effects include the strange double-echoing spoken overlaps on "The Ascent," which add a strong dash of surreal to the mixture. It seems thematically appropriate that this is released on the Amphetamine Reptile label.(AMG)
The Dead C~The White House (1995)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/lfjf4q
And indeed, there it is on the cover. There's not much in the way of commentary or anything about that, though, so either call it a wry Kiwi joke at the Yanks' expense or just something that looked nice enough to use. Consisting of six tracks of unsurprisingly varying length -- fairly short or totally long -- in ways The White House is Dead C as per usual and in others a bit of a diversion from the usual form. Notably, there's evidence of relatively more production -- while it's hardly hard-disk billion-track digital sound or the like, there's effect pedals galore and senses of very careful arrangement as opposed to simply upping the shadowy, crumbling sound factor. Further keyboards and other strange noises from who knows where also slip into things. The off-kilter tones and noises on "The New Snow" sound a bit like Perry and Kingsley going nuts, at least here and there, while the usual noise, fuzz and detuned strangeness skips around the mix. Then there's the minute long "Aime to Prochain Comme toi meme," which could be anything from minimal guitars to kalimba. At the same time, there's songs like the majestic "Bitcher," with a just-epic enough swoop to it, sticking to a big and bold sound along with some heavy-duty flanging throughout on the lead guitar. Morley's vocals, when they appear, are much more cryptic and hard to understand than ever, almost providing a hook here and there. Absolutely no credits are provided beyond song listings, so if anyone helped, that's a mystery -- otherwise it's clearly the three doing once again what needs doing in Dead C land. Ending with one of the band's best ever songs -- the steady, addictive pace and surge of "Outside" -- The White House is another fine effort from New Zealand's best kept secret.(AMG)
Experimental Audio Research~ Mesmerised
http://www.sendspace.com/file/0oqiyj
For as much as E.A.R. first got described to the public as a collaborative effort -- the liner notes even mention Shields, Prevost, and Martin as Sonic Boom's fellow sound makers -- Mesmerised consists of Boom on his own, understandable considering that the group would become his primary mode of post-Spacemen 3 solo expression. As a debut for the continuing project, it's a near-total winner; a winning collage of drones, tones, and endless atmospheric washes that becomes a logical extension of his earlier work into realms of complete psychedelic haze. Unlike many other '90s explorations into post/space rock, the key thing that comes across from Mesmerised is warmth -- though mysterious, to be sure, it's all a beautiful roil of sound, no formal melodies beyond a brief two note hook or two, just cascading gentility. Drum sounds get run through the tape machines backwards, many guitar notes are removed but the echoing feedback remains, and the amount of total oscillation employed must rival even the Silver Apples in their heyday. The snarkily titled "DMT Symphony" sets the initial mood with all these elements and more, while "Mesmerise 2601," the longest track at nearly half an hour, revolves around a central keyboard motif the entire time without ever getting boring, a seemingly endless dream. Straightforward guitar appears here as well, though heavily overdubbed and treated, soft chiming that ends up echoing back on itself in ways that only increase the beautiful, narcotic flow. "California Nocturne" continues the overall backgrounds while introducing what actually sounds like something of a Scottish/Irish pipe figure rather than anything West Coast, while still suiting the piece perfectly. "Guitar Feedback Manipulation," meanwhile, is just that, steering clear of huge, epic drone crunch in favor of equally powerful but still somehow gentler zone that fits in with the feeling of the rest of the album, and brings it to close just so. (AMG)
