Released on a series of tapes in 2009, PC Worship’s earliest material was dominated by heady, tripped-out, psych-folk drones that spanned up to 15 minutes in length. Employing cellos, bowed saws, and clarinets, the project, led by Brooklyn’s Justin Frye, was rooted in eerie and hypnotic soundscapes, a far cry from the sleazy noise-rock perfection […]
Tag: Vol. 46 No. 19
Issue of Feb. 16 – 22, 2017
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Trumpeter Russ Johnson premieres a new quartet with a protean group of New York-based improvisers
Since trumpeter Russ Johnson moved to Milwaukee in 2011—and thanks to his comfort with the 90-minute commute to Chicago—the local jazz and improvised music scene has been injected with a brash yet thoughtful presence and an aesthetic that connects postbop fundamentals with freedom-seeking impulses. Another benefit has been Johnson’s vast network of collaborators from New […]
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Inventive free-improv guitarist Bill Orcutt marches to the beat of his own drummer
When Bill Orcutt—the abstract guitarist of 90s experimental noise-rock technicians Harry Pussy, now a prolific solo artist and collaborator—pairs his gnarled acoustic blues technique and akimbo tuning style with an equally intrepid drummer, the results can sound like an overflowing toolbox that’s been chucked down a metal flight of stairs. And it’s all you can […]
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On their third album, Run the Jewels swagger with a sense of triumph while revealing a new strain of humanism
Killer Mike and El-P up the ante on their self-released third album as Run the Jewels, tapping into floor-rumbling old-school Miami bass fundamentals—albeit a strain that pushes the tradition into the present—and laying out classic, rhythmically agile, hectoring flows. Both MCs convey steamroller energy, infusing every track with a ferocity that draws juice from our […]
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Norwegian sound artist Lasse Marhaug transcends his noise roots
Though he’s often tagged a noise musician, Norwegian sound artist Lasse Marhaug has proven to be much more than that over a career that spans two decades plus. He’s clearly enamored by abstraction and loudness, but he’s also developed keen listening abilities that have made him a regular collaborator with some of the world’s greatest […]
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On My Foolish Heart acoustic guitarist Ralph Towner summons a subdued sweetness
In the liner notes to the new My Foolish Heart (ECM), Ralph Towner recalls how hearing pianist Bill Evans’s 1961 recording of Victor Young’s ballad launched him on a quest to achieve something similarly reverent. As a sideman with the Paul Winter Consort, a member of the jazz and world-fusion ensemble Oregon, and a recording […]
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Valerie June settles into an inviting blend of blues, gospel, soul, and even Saharan guitar music on The Order of Time
On her forthcoming album The Order of Time (due from Concord on March 10) Tennessee-bred singer-songwriter Valerie June settles into a more naturalistic groove, adjusting from her 2013 breakout Pushin’ Against a Stone—influenced by the heavy hand of producer Dan Auerbach—to something that feels morelike it belongs to her. Her music continues to draw from […]
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Soft Fangs front man John Lutkevich has become more adventurous while maintaining his project’s mellow intimacy
When singer-songwriter John Lutkevich wrapped up last year’s The Light (Disposable America/Exploding in Sound), his debut full-length as Soft Fangs, he told Independent Music News that he “became obsessed with the idea of transcendence, of struggling through something in order to reach a higher state.” It’s unclear what, if anything, Lutkevich may have been struggling […]
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The Crazy World of Arthur Brown tours the U.S. for the first time in more than 40 years
I hesitate to call someone a “genius” musically or otherwise, but what other term is there for the guy who basically invented glam-horror-soul-psychedelia-industrial-infused rock music? Who has a voice that can shatter glass? Who’s known for wearing a flaming helmet? Who was one of the first to use a drum machine onstage? Most folks know […]