37500 Yens

37500 Yens

Astero (2007)

Reims, France

Distile Records

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Still not entirely sure what I'm doing with this site, I began to think about what records I've been impressed with this year. A lot of what I've been drudging up recently is pretty dated. As far as 2007 goes, I'd be tempted to say there hasn't been a whole lot happening to my knowledge if it were not for this one outfit from across the Atlantic, 37500 Yens. France seems to be the burgeoning hotbed for interesting guitar and drums music as of late: Chevreuil, Cheval de Frise, Passe Montagne, Room 204, and Grumpf Quartet (for which I cannot find a label or a record if you can help), to name a few.

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Astero, amongst all this greatness still, leads the pack. It is hyper-aggressive guitar and drums two piece, that puts most duos to shame. There are loop pedals I'm sure, but the dynamics here are an outstanding achievement for just two musicians. The range and depth of mood which this band is capable of is astounding. Sullen, then chaotic. Fierce, then droning. The tone, the recording, just the right amount of effects, Saxaphone, everything about this record is flawless.

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37501

Astero

Microphonie

Chapitres

Canard Boiteaux

Interieur 1

Interieur 2

The Sullivan's Quartet

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I'm just gonna link you to their MP3's for now.

37500 Yens at Myspace.

Buy this CD!

Del Rey

Del Rey
A Pyramid For The Living (2006)
My Pal God Records
Chicago, IL

Each of Del Rey's four releases is worth it's own college thesis, but their latest, A Pyramid for the Living, is their finest example of sonically translating the epical. Damien Burke, Brendan Daly, Eben English and Michael Johnson (the North American Snare Drum Champion, by the way), released their first EP in 1997 and have managed two excellent LP's, Speak It Not Aloud, and Darkness & Distance, between then and this last year's release that clocks in at fifty minutes with only five tracks.

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The record opens with the theatrical "Olympus Mons", a ten and a half minute classic tragedy that has all the elements of a Homer masterpiece. Sitars, choirs of Siren-like voices, it's like a civilization builds and then dies and then rebuilds and re-dies again. The rest of the album holds to the saga-like standard as well, with each mini-epic And all this while wisely and vigilantly eyeful of that hazy grey matter that separates fine instrumental story-telling from the histrionic and melodramatic black holes so rampant in today's "post-rock".

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Olympus Mons

A Brief Strangle

Lamplighter

Stemrick

Euphrates

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If their mastery of crescendo and timing don't kill you, what will kill you is the DOUBLE DRUMKITS. Holy fucking hell. It is unfortunate that this technique never quite translates as fiery in the studio as it does in the live performance. After seeing a number of bands that have recruited a second drummer for their shows, it is clear this is always the case. But of all those bands, Del Rey is undeniably at the forefront. The two kits work off one another, masterfully. Pay close attention to the overlapping rhythms from each channel. One snare will hit, and a split second later the other will hit. Always a wonder seeing it live.

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Listen to a good chunk of this record's first track via Quicktime.

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Or at their Myspace.

My Music on RYM

The Purkinje Shift

The Purkinje Shift
Atlanta, Ga
Samizdat Records








Nickel Waves And Carbon Stars
(1997)
Five for the Road and One for the Ditch
(1999)

In many ways I've always regarded these two albums as Volumes I and II of the same idea. They compliment each other nicely, and I suppose if you'd listened to them consecutively at length, you too might find them inseparable.
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The Purkinje Shift may not seem immediately ground-breaking or bold in any technical sense. But what I've found refreshing about their two albums is the mood. Their sound is reminiscent of a kind of sleepless, sinister dementia. (Somehow several hours ago you got this funny idea in your head and then you couldn't stop. And now look. What is that, blood? Where did that come from?)
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Wherever Purkinje Shift is going they are not in a hurry to get there. They take the long scenic routes. Their songs unfold like the traversal across myriad types of alien terrain, or like a Kaliedescope. It seems so natural as it's happening and then suddenly you look around and realize you are not anywhere near where you thought you were. You were suduced by curiosity, and now you have to find your way home. And yes, you're pretty sure that stuff is blood. But no, you're not so sure that it's yours. The Shift are a three piece, two guitars and drums, and for whatever reason they always remind me of some kind of demented backwoods occult blues band. Like a secret society in cloaks in the woods surrounded by fire. They look nothing like that, of course, but that's the impression I always get. ( I guess they wore suits.)
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The two guitarists went on without the drummer to form Moreland Audio. Their record Turbogold is also excellent and expands even further on the ideas established in Purkinje Shift. All three albums available on CD at 54'40' or Fight records.
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Here are some Mp3's on from a Myspace page.

Edit: Visit the Purkinje Shift's Ben Davis' blog, Master of None where you can find downloadable live sets from the Shift in '00 and Moreland Audio in '03. In addition to his other projects, definitely take the time to listen to the mastered tracks of the debut record that almost was from Home of the Wildcats.