Philip Selway – Weatherhouse (Bella Union)
Open mind and ears, I swore to myself before diving into Weatherhouse. Never mind that Philip Selway hails from the obelisk contingency that is Radiohead. Let’s isolate this thing, then. An ordinary ancestral manor in the shady and ever-shifting landscape populated by pop music. High ceilings, high windows. A large study with a wall of […]
Pere Ubu – Carnival of Souls (Fire)
For an entity as dependently freewheeling as Pere Ubu, I shouldn’t have to say much. Of course this new LP is great. Better, I’d venture to say, than last year’s Re-mit, another latter-day release from a renowned cult institution. I mean, there’s a clarinetist on board now. You remember what I said about clarinet solos? […]
Tricky – Adrian Thaws (False Idols)
Hey. Guess how many guest vocalists Tricky enlisted for this album. Go on, guess. And no peeking. Because, let’s face it, folks: this Adrian Thaws is essentially this generation’s Nearly God, as the dark lord of trip hop once again hides behind the curtain and twiddles knobs for the modern-day divas who fell into his […]
The Ballet School – The Dew Lasts An Hour (Bella Union)
Well, I won’t lie. When I plucked Ballet School out of the lineup, I thought for sure I’d singled out another case of all-men groups dubbing their bands with feminine names (see Woman’s Hour, Girl Band). I stand corrected. However. As we all know, having the prerequisite chick on vocals don’t getcha a free pass […]
FKA Twigs – LP1 (Young Turks)
Just nod your head and give up Well, that’s not yr run-of-the-mill portrait, is it? When I first saw it, I though surely I was looking at some porcelain doll. FKA Twigs’ LP doesn’t open like a run-of-the-mill R&B album, either. The first 30 seconds of LP1 steal in like sunlight from above, a choir […]
Mosman Alder – Humdrum Star (Dew Process)
The whole music scene thing, it’s all a façade, really, said my landlord one morning, or something like that. He always says things like that whenever we meet in the kitchen. You know, that the government fabricated the war on drugs (the real one, not the band), that the students coming up seem dumber and […]
Cassette of the Week #7 – Paro
This rhythm. You’ve got to hear this rhythm. Michael Gira can go mewl somewhere else. We here at Collapse Board (read: me) refuse to acknowledge Swans’ To Be Kind as 2014’s hands-down masterpiece. We prefer more blood in the veins of our music, we do. Things that spring with life, and speak of life. To […]
So. That NME List. Let’s Talk.
As we all know, I’m just a hack when it comes to music criticism. Not one of those professional, illustrious NME editors at all. However, I can say that I know a thing or two more about sample selection and “science” than the self-righteous blokes ($10 wager that they’re ALL blokes) who compiled this so-called […]
Song of the Day #693 – Slum of Legs
Can you hear me? Are you with us? Are you an angel? I’m not an angel; I’m concrete. Adjust the signal. Turn the dial. FOCUS. Not every room in the Velvet Underground has been reclaimed, renovated, and rented out to unfeeling young men. Not every psychedelic vision has been reduced to cartoony sketches. Fiddles can […]
King Creosote – From Scotland With Love (Domino)
So I’m half-tempted to split this review with another folk album in my queue – one that breaks more molds and challenges the listener on many more levels – but I’ve decided against it. The work in question demands more thorough listening and all the space that a digital article can afford (and no, digital […]
