Blancmange - Irene and Mavis (Blaah, 1980)

Blancmange formed in Middlesex, England, 1979, is Neil Arthur and Stephen Lunscombe. They recorded this short run EP of synth pop, eastern rhythms and no wave aesthetic. The simplicity of this release makes it beautiful. Its a light-hearted romp through laidback yet dancey, goofy yet elegant off kilter pop.

They did manage to get included on the Some Bizarre album with Soft Cell and Depeche Mode, and they did get a single up to #7 on the UK charts a bit later, but not much else was to come. This is a fantastic little record though. Lots of fun.

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Adem - Takes (Domino, 2008)

Adem Ilhan is not a household name like his bandmate in post-rock band FRIDGE, Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet) is, but after listening to this album, you'll probably remember him.

This is the best pop cover record I've ever heard. I'd like to talk so much about it but I'd prefer you hear it the way I did, listening to each track play and slowly recognizing the songs as they come. Its exciting and quite emotional.

I will say this: Imagine trying to transcribe acoustic guitar for an Aphex Twin song.

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Pete Swanson - Man With Potential (Type, 2011)

I can't help but think the mop-headed militant character on the album cover is a tongue in cheek jab at French noise enthusiast Vomir, who always performs his noise sets hidden underneath a kaffiyeh. Ironically, this scarf has become more recognizable as the fashion of a 22 year old hipster girl than the original image of Yasser Arafat and the PLO.

There are three types of listeners that will drop the needle on this one: The Drone / Noise fans of Swanson's now defunct project Yellow Swans, fans of elegant and classically-minded instrumentals typical of the Type label, and then there are those dance music fans who are as surprised as I am by beats surfacing as a newly integral part of the avant-garde Ambient / Noise / Drone world.

None of these three are remotely prepared for what happens on this album. Swanson decided to fuck with everyone here.

With a hynosis-like approach, he sends you back in time to that really bad tripping experience at the warehouse party in Detroit circa '95. You remember, the one where one of the dj's was walking around shaking hands with people, and later all your friends were talking about how he had dosed his hand with more liquid acid than you could possibly imagine.

By the time you were peaking you saw no reason not to accept the offer for some ketamine. Shortly thereafter, the lights were sizzling your brain like you were staring into the sun, and you were pulling on the side of your head trying to remove that drill bit that was furiously burrowing into your cranium.

All that to say this: Here we have blistering noise-laced techno. This is Jeff Mills, Muslimgauze and Vatican Shadow buried under 6 feet of Prurient and Wolf Eyes.

Remember to take your Dramamine and keep that gallon of oj on hand just in case you want it all to go away.

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Thank you, Etta

The Blue Angel Lounge - Narcotica (8MM / A Records, 2010)

One of the greatest tortured genius assholes in the music business has been hard at work, not with his own band, but with several others under the guise of his own label A Records.

Anton Newcombe of Brian Jonestown Massacre has produced and mastered the work of Germany's own, The Blue Angel Lounge. They haven't had quite the internet presence that Iceland's Dead Skeletons (Newcombe's new band) has worked so hard at marketing but they do bring a similar gothic bluesy psychedelic shoegaze sound. The difference here is more control. There is a definitively post-punk / new wave / Nico bent, as opposed to the straight Jodorowsky psychedelic psychosis Dead Skeletons work in. I appreciate the idea of the "in between" presented here, the working within the margins mentality akin to Warlocks work on The Mirror Explodes. Keep your eyes on this one.

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