NOV 2011 OTHER SOUNDS Editor & cover photo: Contributors: Issue #3 Eliot Haworth November 2011 Design & Photography: Edwin Dorley Adam Sharma Illustration: Catherine Quinn othersoundssociety.wordpress.com Hari Conner George Rayner-Law facebook.com/othersoundssociety Hello once again to all and sundry! It’s been an exciting few weeks in Other Sounds, starting off with a mixtape swap that seemed to go down an absolute storm, and going on to the Islington Mill for a night of strange and eclectic music from pretty much all ends of the spectrum. It was great to see some faces becoming familiar, I’ll take that as a sign that things are proving worth coming to... We’re already in the process of planning another mixtape swap for just after reading week, and another gig (which promises to be a potentially phenomenal night) in the new year. There are several monumental shows coming up soon, all detailed in the Upcoming Gigs feature towards the back of this natty little rag as per usual. Keep putting songs on the Spotify Jukebox (details on Facebook, naturally), keep up the good natter on the group, and if you really want to endear yourselves to us then why not send us an actual piece of post? (Other Sounds Society, University of Manchester Union, Oxford Road, M13 9PR). Doesn’t matter what it is, it would be really quite cool to receive something in our pigeon hole... Adam Sharma Head of Other Sounds Message from editor: This month. More articles. One feature. Plus other things. Eliot Haworth Editor album review: SETS & Lights • xeno & oaklander For this, their second album proper, Xeno (Liz Wendelbo) of their sound, intertwining lyrics, layers upon layers of and Oaklander (Sean McBride) have honed the formula that sequencers, dreamlike imagery and rapturous melodies. worked pretty well on previous album Sentinelle. This time lightening the tone slightly while still keeping their nourish Compared with Vigils, which was perfect music for a elements at the core. The group’s methodology is to record Brutalist winter, or debút proper Sentinelle, which was more every track as live in McBride’s flat using only analogue of the same, like a blanket of snow (this is cold wave, after synths, drum machines and effects. If you’re a synth nerd, all), Sets and Lights is more like what you wished they this is absolutely the album for you – lots of wonderful ARP played at discos for sad people who want to be alone but burbles, DR55 rhythms and 201 echo. If that sentence made don’t like 90’s emo or The Smiths (why don’t these places no sense to you, there’s still an album of alt-(universe) pop exist? Can someone make one please?). My only real here. The title track is an absolute banger: mysterious, arty, issues with this album are too many lead vocals from yet absolutely danceable. Instrumental Italy is Giorgio McBride, and no non-English vocals (Vigils had songs in Moroderish bliss. Corrupt recalls the sound of self-released French, Italian, German and Norwegian and was all the CD-r Vigils, with its layers of sequencers at undanceably better for it). But those are minor gripes, and this is on the fast tempos. Autumn’s Edge and Desert Rose are pinnacles whole, a very, very good album. George Rayner-Law Upcoming gigs th Sunday 20 November sees The Fall coming home to On Thursday 8th you can catch the enigmatic and exciting the Royal Exchange Theatre providing you with a good Iceage at Kraak Gallery, which as mentioned sometime opportunity to check up on Mark E Smith’s current level of before is easily Manchester’s coooooolest venue – even sanity, then the following day you can catch Josh T finding the place is an adventure. You can also see Gary Pearson (of the majestic Lift to Experience) doing his Numan doing his thing at the Ritz that night if that appeals. depressing but stunning solo thing at the RNCM. Friday 9th December throws up for me one of the most For a spot of legendary Manc lunacy you can head back to difficult gig-clash nights in recent memory: it’s either Factory 251 for Shaun Ryder on Saturday 26th – god eternally brilliant space-rockers Hawkwind at the knows what that’s going to be like, I for one can’t wait to find Academy, the spectacular Omar Souleyman at the out. Despite no longer featuring either of the two main Deaf Institute, or unsung electro-psych heroes Death in founding members, Napalm Death could still be worth a Vegas at Club Academy – a very difficult decision shout at Moho Live on Saturday 26th. The month is indeed... finished off by Deep Purple(!) at the MEN Arena on Sun Ra Arkestra are a widespread Other Sounds Tuesday 29th and Thurston Moore at the HMV Ritz on favourite, and they bring their avant-garde stylings to the Wednesday 30th. excellent Band on the Wall on the 10th. Would be worth Not a huge amount to get excited about as we head into going to Half Man Half Biscuit at The Ritz on Saturday December – local guys Dutch Uncles will probably 17th just to see the terrific Lovecraft as support (Simon interest some at the Deaf Institute on Friday 2nd, as will Patrick Gabriel from Organ Freeman’s other band), and glorious homemade-shoegaze merchants I Break Horses that night also sees a classic punk-rock line-up of The at the Soup Kitchen on the 3rd. Oft-mentioned Scots, Adverts, TV Smith and The Valentines at Night & Twin Atlantic come to Club Academy on Sunday 4th, of Day. particular interest that night is the excellent Dinosaur Pile- And, barring a couple of slightly uninteresting Warehouse Up as support; alternatively there’s the extremely Projects and Duran Duran at the MEN, that’s pretty much interesting looking Puro Instinct at Trof Fallowfield – your lot before Santa arrives. prior experience suggests says that catching relatively Adam Sharma unknown bands at Trof is usually something you won’t regret. further listings on our website: othersoundssociety.wordpress.com/gigs Best new band • quilts Mexican Summer – the lovely folks who’ve given us such track for this band should definitely be ‘Penobska musical gems as Best Coast, Washed Out and The Oakwalk’. Despite avidly searching google for a solid half Tallest Man on Earth – have done it again, signing on hour, I still have no idea what or where ‘Penobska’ is, but Quilt, a trippy psychedelic folk trio from Boston. The trio the song perfectly encapsulates all of the band’s consists of songwriters and lead ‘harmonisers’ Shane excellent qualities; repetitious guitar tolls underscoring Butler and Anna Fox Rochinski with John Andrews on Rochinski and Butler’s haunting harmonised echoes. drums. Their songs sound much like a zen version of the The band emerged, like many do, when Butler, Andrews psychedelic sound that was popular in the U.S charts and Rochinski met at college. All three studied Visual Art circa the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Their whimsical sounds (psychedelic folk – are you surprised?) at Boston’s are so seductively trippy that it’s hard to fathom that School of the Museum of Fine Arts and strangely, came they’re actually a band from the present day. Bring your together after meeting on a jam making course. groove, light up some incense sticks and surround Since 2009, the band have released 3 short online yourself in Quilt. Catherine Quinn albums but are finally releasing their self-titled debut quiltmusic.bandcamp.com proper ‘Quilt’ on LP and CD this November. Your taster mexicansummer.com/shop/quilt-quilt/ album review: The Year of Hibernation • Youth Lagoon Youth Lagoon is 22 year old Boise State University overwrought, not self-indulgently melancholic – student Trevor Powers, and his debut album The Year bittersweet lyrics soar effortlessly, resulting in a love of Hibernation is a quietly stunning effort. Throughout song both ecstatic and despondent in equal measure. 35 minutes it bristles with lo-fi guitar, delicate piano, Comparisons of Powers’ vocals to those of the late and vocals so detached they sound as though they Mark Linkous (of Sparklehorse) are inevitable and not were recorded in a church 5 miles away. It’s as unmerited. Such similarity only increases the unforced insistent as it is dreamy, making for a truly indulgent poignancy the album creates. Youth Lagoon, recording listen. in self-induced, anxiety-based isolation, could easily Highlights include the playful “Afternoon” which hides just have been another Bon Iver – ultimately dull and lyrics about sheer anxiety underneath wonderfully undefined in his meditations – but happily the craft and childlike melodies. “Montana” is also exceptionally intrigue underpinning The Year of Hibernation avoids stirring, building up waves of reverb until it feels like the such a comparison altogether. song will collapse around itself. A final note: unless you want to pander even further to “July” is undoubtedly the album’s centrepiece and a broken heart, then this is probably a record best crowning glory: a pondering epic of subtle and rousing listened to exclusively in a celebratory fashion. beauty, blending careering shoegaze guitars with Otherwise you might find its beauty well and truly almost indistinguishably tender vocals. Not destroys you. Adam Sharma Shit old albums So much of our music magazine industry has of swearing. It sounds like little more than a 3 minute become about heritage publications, celebrating intro. Dull. Ice does introduce us to the members of the ‘epochal’, ‘legendary’ and ‘ultimate’ albums from band though. Which is nice. We have his ‘main yesteryear. But not every album from the past is motherfucker Mooseman’ on bass, the ‘infamous D- any good… Roc’ on rhythm guitar, ‘motherfucker Beatmaster V’ on This month, Shit Old Albums delves deep into Ice T’s drums, his ‘lead nigga Ernie C’ on guitar, and of mind on one of the first rap/metal crossovers, Body course, Ice ‘motherfucking’ T.