REVIEWS:
Anvil Salute / New Crusaders of the Eleventh Commandment
Posted at Animal Psi on May 1, 2007 along with a review of our self-titled cassette:
'New Crusaders of the 11th Commandment' is the band’s second “proper” full-length (the first being the 2005 Foxglove ‘A Discreet History of Bone’) and the first for their own label, Maritime Fist Glee Club. Through the album’s eight tracks, the band continues to supplement their wordless compositions with evocative names such as onomatopoetic opener “Whirlpool, Tortoise & Hare”, a folk tune of a sailor’s mandolin strings, lurching jugband rhythms, and clip-clop percussion. However, unlike the previous cassette (recorded in the midst of the sessions cropped for this disc), the music of ‘New Crusaders’ breaks from the jazz-leanings to embrace an Americana sound akin to Town and Country, Charalambides and its many offshoots, and (again) most prevalently, Jackie O Motherfucker. The gleeful weave of strings and keys in “Plushies Unite” lull the senses to rest, thus allowing even more power to the onset of “Krofftland”, a one-two dance of sinewy strings, didgeri-drones, and repressed saxophone impervious to the swift motion of polyrhythmic hand-claps; dark and ritualistic, the song begs the ominous Shalabi Effect at their most grounded. While none of the songs quite reach the double-digit sprawl of “Ghosts of Forgotten Winters”, central tracks “A Word With Every Apple” and “Platt National Forest 1919” push 8 and 9 minutes respectively, and together form a folksy string suite poised on acoustic guitar and banjo, as well as some eastern timbres, with the delightful addition of subtle arrangements cognizant of Copland and Ives. Purported wedding song “Hidden Language” expands a simple guitar melody with piano flourishes and gongs (it works!), ham-fisted timpani, cello and more, realizing a firm harmony in many unlikely sounds. Traditionally-performed traditional “Sugar Baby” features the first emergence of vocals, recalling the everyman vocals of Tom Greenwood and Jackie O more than ever – banjos, acoustic, harmonica, Quaker Oats drums – a nice diversion before the grandeur of “Stylish Cope”, a final string-layering stunner of the progressive sort they do so well, this one ornate with shrieks of high-fret fiddling and sweeping bass vibration, with additional color of harmonica and xylophone. Just what that 11th commandment says remains a mystery, though it may be something like “make really good albums, but take your fancy time”. I kid. Stamped CDr comes in a labeled cardboard sleeve with neat artwork and text. Limited to 300 pieces. This band is really great. Highest recommendation.
Appears in Skyscraper #24 (Spring 2007):
This intriguing obscurity, the Oklahoma band's second full-length, is recommended for more contemplative, drone-oriented listeners. Stretching out horizontally, this pastoral album takes its sweet time in getting where it's going; it is about the journey, not the destination. Building their songs upon ostinatos played on various acoustic stringed instruments, Anvil Salute play droning, sometimes Eastern-inflected music with a distinctly organic feel. Iterated riffs are heard on banjo, bouzouki, dulcimer, mandolin, cello, and lesser-known "ethnic" stringed instruments. The album, mostly instrumental, frequently lends the feeling of languid, peaceful movement across open spaces, perhaps inspired by the prairie landscape lying beyond the city limits of Norman. "Plushies Unite" is an especially warm, fluid, inviting track, wending its way around a pedal point. Other songs evoke a raga-like feel, drawing the listener into trance. "Krofftland," surely a tribute to Sid and Marty's surreal children's programs, features weeping, avant-garde saxophone, and was previously released on a split-cassette by Norway's Gold Soundz label. Anvil Salute's sound is quite unique, though they could possibly be called"free-folk" in their expansiveness, droniness. and organicism – Six Organs of Admittance and Charalambides are reference points. Indeed, Anvil Salute will appeal to the New Weird Americans out there looking for something tastily arcane from the heartland underground. Yet such labels cannot delimit such expansive, open-ended music as this. (Michael Snyder)
Posted at Womblife March 6, 2007:
This OK (as in Oklahoma) unit's transformation is now complete. I've not heard their earliest albums, but it appears they've evolved into full-on psychedelic roots folk ensemble with this excellent CD-R meandering its way through a thick tangle of thorny branches and colored foliage, stripping away all the artifice of life to reveal shimmering undeniable aural light. Meditative and completely handmade in the same breath. "A Word With Every Apple" is the most soaring, hair-standing-on-the-back-of-the-neck instrumental I've heard in at least a three weeks. And just in time for Spring too.
Posted on Foxy Digitalis Wednesday, January 30, 2007:
For their second proper full-length, this Oklahoman sextet has crafted a song cycle that subtly incorporates many disparate musical elements into a melange of bucolic folk bliss. Anvil Salute’s sinuous soundscapes straddle genres and ethnomusical boundaries, embracing drone, repetition, and beguiling melodies. This is music for late night desert campfires, the hazy cloud of guitar strum masking the frightening calls of mysterious beasts. And when the banjo coaxes the sun to rise Anvil Salute stand alone, crusaders of a revelatory eleventh commandment.
Leadoff track “Whirlpool, Tortoise and Hare” sets the mood with harmonium drone and layer upon layer of guitar strum. A deep low-end throb drives the track down into your subconscious, ensuring that you’re hooked from the get-go. The ocean of shimmering guitar that is “Plushies Unite” is an example of the lighter, folksier side of Anvil Salute’s cornucopia of sound delights. Its airy interlocking melodies provide perfect cloud-gazing material.
Dedicated fans of Anvil Salute will recognize the somewhat sinister stomp of “Krofftland” from the Pink Gold cassette compilation released on the Gold Soundz label. A baleful drone soaks a guitar in whiskey and sets it ablaze, while a gang of madmen clap and stomp with glee. Somehow a saxophone gets worked into the mix, courtesy of Kasra “George” Ahmadi.
Purity, bliss, and wistfulness – this is as best a description of “A Word With Every Apple” that I can muster. It’s a folk-pop gem, plain and simple. “Platt National Forest 1919” brings on the banjo, and is an energetic romp through the fields that lay beyond the back porch. For some reason whenever I hear this song, I picture a group of drunken revellers dancing around in a circle, smiling and laughing and spilling their drinks in some bar somewhere in the Southern U.S. It reminds me of beer and whiskey and good times – in other words, it’s a damn great song!
“Hidden Languages” a very pretty song, imbued with sentimentality. Originally written for the wedding of band member Todd Fagin’s sister, the track is decidedly lush, swaying with the summer breeze. The only song to feature vocals, “Sugar Baby” is a gregarious take on an old standard, loosely based on a version by Dock Boggs. “Stylish Cope” closes out the record with a roiling sea of stringed instruments and bells. It’s mesmerising.
Anvil Salute chose to release this album on their own Maritime Fist Glee Club imprint, which has a handful of releases to its name. However, most of their music has been released on other labels. At any rate, I’m looking forward to hearing more from these talented Oklahomans in the near future, and this record is highly recommended. 9/10 -- Bryon Hayes
Appeared in The Oklahoma Gazette on Wednesday, Sepember 13, 2006:
As left-field a folk record as you’re likely to hear in 2006, Anvil Salute has picked up the remnants of Devendra Banhart’s empire, kidnapped Joanna Newsom and scrambled toward the hills — it’s more self-described “semi-improvised droning fractured folk” for this talented sextet (Gabe Wingfield, Todd Fagin, Jesse Butler, Brad Fielder, Kelly Stevens, Rebecca Loftiss and Kasra “George” Ahmadi) to gleefully explore.
The inexorable drone of “Whirlpool, Tortoise & Hare” nevertheless reveals an elegiac undercurrent, while the vaguely ominous “Krofftland” builds piece by piece, culminating in a nervous, uncertain breakdown. Over these eight tracks, Anvil Salute delivers a precise blow to your senses, holding you captive while unleashing this exceptional wave of oddly beautiful compositions.
Per the group’s Web site, Wingfield elaborated on the aims of “New Crusaders of the 11th Commandment,” Anvil Salute’s second full-length album: “It includes ‘Krofftland,’ which was originally on ‘Pink Gold’ released by Gold Soundz, and ‘Hidden Languages’ was originally written for Todd’s sister’s wedding. Sentimental, really.
“The album shows off the slightly folkier side of the band, features banjo, acoustic guitars, bongos, esraj, bulbul tarang, and a bunch of other things. There’s even a cover of ‘Sugar Baby’ loosely based on Dock Boggs’ version. It’s good stuff if we do say so ourselves.”
reviewed in Dream #7:
This is my favorite release yet by this improvisational sextet from Norman, Oklahoma. A beautifully mesmerizing mix of mantra, acoustic folk, jazz, tribal, trance, chamber music, and lullabies. They present eight mostly instrumental tracks, except for a rendition of Sugar Baby based on Dock Boggs’ version. A circle of strumming and percussion allows a sax to float, dart and weave above them like an errant moth attracted to the campfire light. Gently repeating motifs lull the listener into a light dream state. I hear willow trees and cattails in the background.
Moment Trio / Constructions One
reviewed in Dream #6 (May 2006):
Eleven untitled instrumentals from the trio Christian Asplund, Michael Lee, and Blake Wilkins recorded live at the University of Oklahoma in early 2005. A wide range of instrumentation: gongs, rattles, bowls, piano, vibes, drums, many percussive objects, bass (plucked and bowed), violin, and viola? Like gamelan bats in first flight after a long day; fluttering and filling the dusk with subtle activities. Minimal notes, so I'm guessing. They play with a lot of respect for each others' space, but they are all vibrant in their own way worthy of primary focus. From jazzy, to chamber music precision, to more abstract sonic explorations. Beautiful highly organic improvisational signs of life, with plenty of chills, spills, suspense, and ghostly mystery.
posted and reviewed as part of Bones From The Garden at Deep Water Acres (Feb 2006):
Moment Trio, also from the Maritime Fist compound, explores a ragged free sound sculpture that ranges from percussive clang fests to scorched bass and drone rumbles and lots of minimal inbetweens. Mostly enganging, unclassifible journeys that sound like a more spacious cousin to Daniel Padden’s One Ensemble, where the deconstruction reveals brilliantly illuminated passages of solemn transcendence, albeit captured at the bottom of a well; nice echo chamber production.
reviewed in Dream #7:
This CDR release features two extensive tracks constructed from layers of sublimely mystified acoustic guitar, bells, chimes, and moaning male vocals. If a fairly well-adjusted ghost were to make music, it might sound like this. The second track features words and sounds a bit like a slow motion version of Six Organs of Admittance.
posted and reviewed at Foxy Digitalis (December 2005):
Gown is the solo guise of Nanaimo native, Andrew MacGregor. I first became aware of his recordings earlier this year when he went on a trek from British Columbia to Western Mass with his partner, Christina Carter. MacGregor and Carter did a lot of duo sets during that tour, and it makes sense. Gown traverses similar territory as Carter on her solo releases - fractured, emotive guitars and distant, bellowing vocals. It's a good combination.
"For You" is made up of two long tracks. The first, "Of You," clocks in at around 20 minutes. Built around a foundation of methodically plucked acoustic guitar, Gown reaches a trance-like state on this piece. MacGregor's voice floats through the murky composition like a lost firefly, giving off light every so often in hopes that he'll be found again. Minimal percussion is present throughout, but midway through the ritualistic feeling of this piece picks up. More percussive elements (though still sparse) are brought into the mix and MacGregor's chant-like vocals become fully hypnotic. Hand claps add to the primitive feeling, as if he's singing in a cave amongst the archaic paintings. This is a great track.
On "For You," Gown is different than when I saw him live earlier this year. His singing is more controlled and in a lower register. "Tides," the second track, is a continuation of the first track. This time, MacGregor swaps out the acoustic for an electric, but the sound is in the same vein. His playing is crisp. Each note is carefully chosen and well-defined. "Tides" employs less vocals than "Of You," but the end effect is just the same. As he plays each bar, you are washed away completely.
Gown is an exciting new project. MacGregor's wordless vocals create an entirely new world unto themselves. He doesn't need to use any defined language to affect the listener. "For You" is the perfect introduction into his world.- Brad Rose
Locust Avenue / The New Originals
reviewed in Dream #7:
A louder clearer sound than before, more middle American rock pop. A bunch of nice guys making their collective pop dreams into some kind of reality. Very catchy and much more overtly psychedelic and colorfully poppy than their ‘Shortwave’ album. A couple tracks sound like they might want to be R.E.M., but this time the songs really will be about nothing.
appeared in Oklahoma Gazette, Wednesday 27 April, 2005:
From the gritty opening notes of "Safe Distance," Norman-based quintet Locust Avenue ferociously channels the spiritual likes of The Replacements and The Kinks through the 10 tracks on "The New Originals" — leaving listeners with a permanent grin stapled to their faces and an undeniable urge to hit the repeat button after every track.
Band togethe around Normanite Jeff Richardson, Locust Avenue's first new record in almost four years is a alt-pop gem buffed to a high, lovely shine by the production genius of Carl Amburn, working from his increasingly visible Mousetrap Studios.
Another byproduct of the disc is an irrepressible urge to see Locust Avenue perform, which is understandable, at least according to Richardson.
"A lo of our early live performances were trial by fire and they helped us figure out what worked and what didn't as far as song arrangements went," Richardson told Oklahoma Gazette earlier this month. "Our live set over the first eight months of our existence as a band is essentially the album."
[...] written by Preston Jones
appeared in POP Magazine, Friday, 22 April 2005:
Crafting pop songs has become a lost art, especially in these days of post-hardcore and screamo confusion. It's nice to know there's a place where verse/chorus/verse structures still work, a place where lyrics are written and sung so people can hear what's being said. That place is Locust Avenue, and their sophomore CD for the local label Maritime Fist [Glee Club] (sic.) is a humble ode to the lost art of pop sensibility. written by Josh McBee
Gavagai / Guardian Of The Cattle
reviewed in Dream #7:
Hypnotic muddy swirls in flowing river water. Improvisational rhythmic group interactions unintentionally revealing bucolic surroundings whether real or imagined. Some pieces feel slightly more premeditated than others, though they all exude an organic/acoustic vibe, as well as an abiding respect the soft-spoken end of the spectrum. A trio made up of Greg Elliott, Jesse Butler, and Lily Butler making sacred sounds in their living rooms.
posted & reviewed online at oklahomarock.com (July 2004):
Gavagai is out to prove that a darkened forest is in fact much more frightening than any crime soaked city. Guardian of the Cattle is a meticulously built rural auralscape featuring plucked folk instruments, ethnic drones and the terrifying sounds of isolation.
Drawing on the dark underbelly of the Appalachians and other sources of folk dementia, Gavagai take you through the pillaged palaces of yore, and past dying trees stripped of bark. The instrumental disc serves as a quiet funeral song for our society of highways and hyper-communication as we quickly evolve and invent towards our own destruction.
Weighing in at 72 minutes, the album is a large pill to swallow. A majority of Guardian of the Cattle's nine tracks are between six and twelve minutes. Tracks such as "Nefesh Twakan" are simply exercises in the bizarre with no discernable melody, or theme; simply noise. The duo does best when they stick to acoustic guitar-oriented material because of the instrument's rhythmic and melodic tendencies.
Overall Guardian of the Cattle has the slow and methodical slither of a snake. The songs carefully creep along as repetition draws you in like the flicker of flame. This is definitely not a disc for fun summer driving, but there are times in everyone's life when a trance-like state can be a blessing. (3 out of 5 stars) written by Chris Rodriguez
Posted at Independent Clauses:
Close your eyes (figuratively of course). Let's pretend for a moment that you are living in Chicago and working on a PhD. In your spare time you play guitar for three bands called Bosco and Jorge, Magic Lanterns and The Slow Planet, as well as working on a side project called Lake Girls. Whoa, that has to consume a good portion of your life. So what do you do in your free time? That's right; you create a solo project called Stephen J. and release an album. You may now open your eyes and breathe a sigh of relief that you are not Matt Carson.
All of the time that Carson has spent playing for and contributing to other bands gives him valuable insight into his own work. This originality and ingenuity comes as a slap in the face on his debut album, Midwest in Mono. The album opens with "Sunday, 5 A.M.," a short and comforting instrumental that fades seamlessly into "Big Blue House," one of the less prominent tracks on the album. "Big Blue House" does, however, set down Carson's vocal precedents for a relaxing and mellow performance. It is smooth like warm margarine, without losing any of the creaminess or texture of real butter (don't ask).
"Master of None" and "Wings On," two of the best tracks on the album, have perfectly fitting guitar melodies without any of the typical showiness. Carson's song craftsmanship is impressive and completely fluid without ever faltering, best shown in one of the catchiest tracks, "Windmill Lounge." But I guess everything can't last forever. Suddenly Carson unveils "Letter (Never Sent)," a Bright Eyes-ish monologue mentioning an ex-casino pit boss, Vietnam veteran pot head juxtaposed with wine glasses and a mangled oboe solo. This is all done in good taste and, as a finished product, is absolutely beautiful to hear. But wait...there's more! Carson's alter-ego of sorts, Stephen J., has his own theme song. "Stephen J." does not deviate from Carson's desired path of laid-back style in any way. This gem closes with "Suitable for Framing," a sleepy lo-fi track that makes you wish to spend the rest of the day napping.
This is definitely worth your time. Matt Carson has crafted a warm, good-humored monument to relaxation that gives far more than it takes and leaves you pounding your utensils on the table, demanding to be fed more. - Mark Pranger
reviewed in Dream #7:
Ghostly Americana evaporating in a dusty trail of moonlight. Desperation glimmers around the edges, but there’s often warmth and reassurance at the core. This is not a person; but matt carson sings in a pleasant resonant voice that gives this a distinctive personality, it’s a quartet, and none of them are named stephen. Gently softspoken folk rock that goes in and out of focus. Some pieces are fairly straightforward and songlike, while others veer off the garden path into the woods and briars.
Spagirus / Ever Now Those Before
reviewed in Dream #7:
Five droning suites of sound and folded space; some more texturally crunchy than others. Big sleepy ghosts rolling around as massive shifting shapes that stir the air with roots that reach all the way to the center of the earth. Humming deep earthly tones and factories made of glass spewing out thick fragrant smoke rings into the cool evening air.
posted & reviewed online at oklahomarock.com (Jan 2004):
This is my introduction to the eccentric label of Maritime Fist Glee Club based in Norman. The label revolves around peculiar and completely unrelated strains of music; from atmospheric glitch, to dreamy improvisational space-rock. Ever Now Those Before is dubbed ‘treated sample compositions’ which involves taking samples of audio and manipulating them in a manner to reinvigorate and mystify the source material. This record does so admirably, but unfortunately it is the only thing the album does admirably. This collection of ‘compositions’ is merely a second-rate ambient record created through digitally assisted audio manipulations. Essentially drones with the occasional cut and splice to keep the drug-riddled listener awake, this is not something one can actively listen to. The track listing and lengths of the songs bring up a peculiar question to me: With songs that last from seven to twenty minutes and remain constant throughout, how does one know when to end the song? Most lacking is the absence of vocal or rhythmic elements (or any elements at all really) to peak a listener’s interest. The album is basically a collage of aural waves drifting in and out of the speakers hoping to keep your attention before you rattle out of the room for a coffee break. I suppose something like this music has it time and place, but it’s nothing that hasn’t be released before.
If this record were to come out in the late seventies or early eighties when these experiments were first being conducted I suppose it would fit nicely into the scheme of things. Unfortunately it appears that this genre has been taken as far as possible for the time being, and this album is an excellent illustration of this. In previous decades this kind of manipulation required experimenting with tape instead of clicking and dragging with a mouse or some other hi-tech nonsense. Artists doing these records with little technology make them more interesting and respectable to me, but nowadays one can fumble through these trappings with a hundred dollar computer program and a dime bag. I suppose this record would fit nicely in my "once every leap yea" category, but it would more than likely just become filler, and take up space in an oversized CD collection. (2 out of 5 stars) written by Chris Rodriguez
appeared in issue #17 (September 2003) of The Broken Face:
I haven't heard this Oklahoma Group before, but I like what i hear on Ever Now Those Before. As a matter of fact, I don't really think this is a group effort at all, as it seems to be the work of Greg Elliott alone, but that's another story. What Elliott practices as Spagirus is the electronic kind of minimalism that sometimes is referred to as lowercase sound. The use of silence and tranquility, resulting in something approaching the almost meditational, characterizes the genre as well as this record, and even though I can't claim to be an expert on said musical style, this is one of the finest such releases I've heard for quite some time. Elliott explores quiet, sustained segments of low-pitched drones and dark colors with the same sort of slow-motion and weightlessness aesthetics as Morton Feldman and more recently Berhard Günter. The compositional focus is placed somewhere in the space between sound and silence, and despite that most of it is perceptible, headphones are definitely a good idea to fully enjoy Spagirus' delicate minimalism. If you would have asked me five years ago, it's likely that I'd have been bored to death by these microscopic events, but on a gray day like this I find it to be both quite relaxing and beautiful. written by Mats Gustafsson.
Dreamt Of By Armadillos / Dreamt Of By Armadillos
reviewed in Dream #7:
Guitars, synthesizer, bass, drums, samples, phone, and more utilized to improvise these captivating glimpses of a seamless sonic fabric and manifesting manifold mysteries along the way. They play with a unified muscularity many contemporary improv outfits eschew. There are a couple tracks here that feel very much like space rock, but it’s all dreamily captivating.
posted & reviewed online at Aural Innovations (Mar 2004):
I swear that in the four years that I lived in Oklahoma that, with a few notable exceptions, I saw no evidence of any cool local scene - the place was pretty much a cultural wasteland. Perhaps they were just in hiding, waiting for me to leave town? Anyway, this is the first “semi official” release from this Norman, OK quintet, brought to us courtesy of the fine folk at Maritime Fist Glee Club. DOBA mixes elements of ambient, extendo jam-rock, prog, jazz and even a bit of electronica into a heady brew that while reminding me a bit of contemporaries such as SubSpace and perhaps Escapade really don’t sound quite like anything else that I have heard lately. The drumming is diverse, ranging from the straight-ahead time keeping rock of the opening track to a more free and textural approach, as the guitars, keys and sampled + real vocals duel over the top. It’s all pretty cleanly with no really harsh edges or massive fuzz attacks or anything like that. Although there is a definite intensity the thing that separates these guys from the others that I mentioned earlier is that when they get in a groove it has a laid back, loping (dare I call it a) vibe that brings to mind really soaked dub, like the OnU Sound stuff or something. I dunno, maybe I’m just f**ked in the head or something. I’m just telling ya what I hear. It really is more of a “feeling” than a sound, maybe I just have to go back and pull out some African Head Charge records and I’ll change my mind. At any rate, good stuff, dig. written by Brain Faulkner
posted & reviewed online at oklahomarock.com (Jan 2004):
It's funky, it's sparsely electronic, it's spacey; surely it's Dreamt Of By Armadillos. In the tradition that Maritime Fist Glee Club can't release anything in a simple predictable straight-ahead format comes the first official release by Dreamt of by Armadillos. What peculiarities does this disc contain you may be asking? Well aside from the fact that they credit someone performing with a phone as if it were a commonplace instrument, a quick scan of the credits reveal that the album was recorded 'live in Neilson Hall room a102'. But don't be tricked into thinking this is a glorified bootleg, the record is well engineered and the band's improvisations seem, for the most part, focused and consistent.
A well-greased rhythm section lays the funky backdrop as trippy guitars go head to head with samples and keyboards. At times the music may seem directionless but I assure you that it is just the band messing with you. The second they care to click, the music suddenly comes together and makes perfect sense. Of course with a recording like this you are going to have less successful tracks than others ("srand" is an example of this). But the band always makes sure that you have something you can listen to and focus on (in the case of "srand" it's Joel Young's funky drumming which carry the track nicely). The album seems to be a metronome clicking back and forth between a funkier sound and flat out spacey-ness. Sometimes it tilts too far to one side, but sometimes it's just right. (3 out of 5 stars) written by Chris Rodriguez
appeared in issue #17 (September 2003) of The Broken Face:
Our favorite Norman, Oklahoma label Maritime Fist Glee Club continues to explore the outer sound of the Great plains with the self-titled release by Dreamt Of By Armadillos, a sometimes five-piece also hailing from Norman. The 60 minute-long disc offers an intriguing blend of jazz, rock, electronics and various experimental leanings. It's woven into some nice smoky structures of sound that range from sweetly gentle floatation to quietly hypnotic grooves. Soft Machine comes to mind from time to time, but this is decidedly more electronic and spaced out (which I guess means it could be compared to SM's brilliant archival release, Spaced Out) but still stays on the quieter side of things most of the time. there's really no use in pointing out specific tracks, as this sorrowful space exploration very much is an album to enjoy in its entirety. listen to the sounds sink into gravity, try to remember the seamless supernatural dreams it generates, get a glimpse of that wide horizon that comes along with such sonic vision. Let it dissolve time into a languid stupor or simply sit back and relax. I'm not quite sure where to place this album stylistically, but no matter if it's jazz, contemporary electronic music, minimal Krautrock or psychedelic/prog rock, it's a pivotal release that you should get your hands on as soon as you get the chance. written by Mats Gustafsson.
Locust Avenue / Songs For The Shortwave
reviewed in Dream #7:
A thumping melodic indie pop rock sound, with jangling guitars, compressed populist work ethics and Americana-earthliness. Humble and simmering rather than blazing. Likeable life-sized contemporary folk rock and more spilling out seemingly effortlessly. Slacker white boy blues numbly mulling over the end of the world from their living room lookout towers.
appeared in issue #12 (October 2001) of The Broken Face:
"Let's go back in time to the mid/late 60s. The Kinks are at top of their game, a dynamic and undeniably powerful sonic force that seemingly writes those melodic, well-written gems without any effort at all. Move 35 years forward in time and while you're at it, let's build a sonic bridge across the pond from the early British Invasion to the Great Plains of Oklahoma. What we end up with on the American side is a talented man who aims for a similar balance between melodic British songcraft, power chords and folk as the Kinks once blessed the world with. Locust Avenue is a solo moniker for Jeff Richardson, but "Songs for the Shortwave" was embellished and re-recorded with Richardson's longtime friends the Van Wagner brothers. So it feels more like a band release than an actual solo album. The opening four tracks sums up exactly what this album is about. First we have "Vacillate," a lamenting pop song consisting of whirring keyboards, acoustic guitar and Richardson's distinctively emotional voice which gives way for circling guitars and sing along vocals to the up beat pop gem "Flat Ones." Then "Needless Tedium" brings us back to the ground in a slow meeting between folk, country and downcast pop before they decide to slightly turn up the amps in the catchy pop ditty "A Man of Substance." What attracts me to Locust Avenue is how they bounce around the pop universe with a classic songwriting approach but at the same time manage to marry these timeless influences with something that makes it work as a nice document of poignant pop music from the beginning of the 21st century. written by Mats Gustafsson.
appeared in POP Magazine Friday, 9 Sept. 2001:
Jeff Richardson, Norman expatriate and former member of the Helicopter and the Cop Outs, was slated to put together an album of solo four-track recordings for the relatively new Norman label Maritime Fist Glee Club. Displeased with the recording abilities of his four-track recorder, though, Richardson discussed the possibility of recording some songs at Drew and Chris Van Wagner's (friends and collaborators on early recordings) studio in Kansas City. The result is "songs for the shortwave," a 14-song CD-R released under the moniker locust avenue. The music, itself, runs the gamut from stripped-down folkie songs ("so long") and heart-wrenching slo-fi ("vacillate") to countrified ballads ("needless tedium") and more straightforward rockers ("can you," which was featured on ESPN during the CFB Pro Am Series). All and all, "songs for the shortwave" covers a lot of musical territory, disappointing the listener only in the brevity of the album (a mere 32 minutes). Though Richardson is the brainchild behind locust avenue, the Van Wagner brothers appear on almost every track on "songs for the shortwave." The trio plans to begin recording a follow-up album later this year. A
>3 (Greater Than Three) / untitled
appearing in issue #12 (October 2001) of The Broken Face:
Here's an interesting little gem on Oklahoma micro-label Maritime Fist Glee Club, notable for, among other things, their pretty neat motto, "what you hear is only partially our fault." It hardly comes as a surprise then that the label mainly focuses on bands that are willing to go out of their way to improvise and see what the occasion might have in store for them. >3 certainly belongs in that category, unleashing a musical blend of violin, viola, toy piano, chord organ, double bass, flute, treated piano, effects and what ever is around at the moment, resulting in a sound that defies categorization. These guys will probably be labeled with the free-jazz sticker, but judging from the overall atmosphere of this self-titled disc they've probably dissected all those newsletters from Eclipse Records with as much interest as any record geek with an affection for the odd things out there. Just to take an example, "#4" (there are no track names here, which kind of makes sense along with the beautiful "black on black" artwork and the levitational music) reminds me more of the stunning tangential NZ improvisers Sandoz Lab Technicians than of Cherry or Ayler. This darkly spiraling string drone works particularly well at high volumes, so turn it up loud and be blessed or move on to some of the other tracks that go over Rake-like territories before things close with a nice slab of folkish jazz experimentalism. written by Mats Gustafsson.
appeared in POP Magazine Friday, 22 Feb. 2002:
The concept of synergy posits, as the late, great Buckminster Fuller wrote, “behavior of integral, aggregate, whole systems (are) unpredicted by behaviors of any of their components or subassemblies of their components taken separately from the whole.” In other words, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Whether this is what Christian Asplund, Michael Lee & Jon Haek had in mind when they named their trio >3 is open to speculation. All speculation aside, Asplund and Lee, both accomplished assistant professors in the University of Oklahoma School of Music, formed >3 with Haek, a graduate student in said school, around two years ago. In the time since, >3 have crafted a sound that incorporates elements of improv with classical and modern composition, utilizing everything from double bass, violin, viola, pianos, harmonium, flute and piccolo to found objects, depending on time and setting. The music, itself, defies comparison; at times cacophonous and searing, at others, droney subdued, and soothing. Perhaps a cross between Kronos Quartet and John Zorn’s “elegy” (such a lame comparison will have to suffice). Since their inception, >3 have performed numerous times at various venues throughout Norman, such as the now defunct Medicine Hall, Catlett Music Center, and even in Asplund’s living room. (Side rant: have you noticed the inability of certain live-music venues to keep their doors open or, for that matter, even open, in Norman? It certainly is not for lack of desire by would-be proprietors or venue patrons). >3’s debut (and extremely limited edition) CD-R was recorded live in Catlett Music Center during both Center performances and closed rehearsals and has been released by Norman’s fledgling maritime fist glee club. Even if you are unable to find the CD, you are likely able to catch one of >3 many live performances (how often is Norman graced with such obvious talent)? If you can find the CD (or we can talk Gabe Wingfield, proprietor of maritime first glee club, into a second pressing), you may get a first-hand glimpse of just what Buckminster meant by “synergy.” A
ASSORTED PRESS:
Articles:
Locust Avenue set to release 'The New Originals'
(from the April 1, 2005 POP supplemental of the Norman Transcript)
"Sailing The Experimental Seas"
(from the October 23, 2003 Oklahoma Gazette)
Reviews:
Anvil Salute New Crusaders of the Eleventh Commandment
Moment Trio Constructions One
Gown For You
Locust Avenue The New Originals
Spagirus Ever Now Those Before
Stephen J. Midwest in Mono
Dreamt Of By Armadillos Dreamt Of By Armadillos
Locust Avenue Songs For The Shortwave
>3 untitled