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Chelsea Wolfe and King Dude Record Store Day Split 7″ | Music News
Sargent House serves up a special 7″ for Record Store Day, pairing together ethereal and mystic singer songwriters Chelsea Wolfe and King Dude for a cover each on the others material. We have only heard Chelsea Wolfe’s side and it is simply incredible to say the least. Check out the digital stream of Chelsea Wolfe’s side via Sargent House below and grab a copy from many of the United States best record stores. Record Store Day!
From the upcoming Chelsea Wolfe & King Dude “Sing Songs Together…” Split 7″, Available at participating independent record stores as part of Record Store Day (April 20th). – Sargent House
Tera Melos ‘X’ed Out’ Sargent House | Album Review
Sargent House has done a wealth of good for the hurried little hearts of us at SCV. Like a colossal overcurrent the family of musicians steadily unraveling through the label has nearly shorted the mind’s capacity to keep up. This is partly because each new artist brings with them a back catalog that overwhelms endorphins when explored. “How can I fit all of this into me right now??” the greedy little hearts say. Luckily, SH releases tend to recapitulate the intelligence and emotion of an artist’s previous oeuvre with sharp sophistication and heightened energy. Artists continuously outdo themselves at Sargent House and it’s become a strange matter of suspect as to what the hell is in the water over there.
Patagonian Rats by Tera Melos is one such notorious release. Put out through Sargent House in 2010, its recording process has been described by the band as the way they’ve wanted to make an album for a long time. Since then this new production stride has been established with the release of 2011′s Zoo Weather EP and the epic “Echo on the Hills of Knebworth” session piece. This month the trio drops their newest LP, X’ed Out, a record with unwavering confidence in the brave new Tera Melos process.
Beginning with starting track “Weird Circles” X’ed Out immediately clicks into a dream-like vivacity. The ascending rhythm and the melody circling it arch into an explosion of cymbals, lights, and careening guitar. The vocals that fill the waiting moments introduce a etched glass vision of the landscape, an interior monologue sung in hazed near-whispers and emphasized in frosted layers. The emotion of “Weird Circles”and its outdoor wistfulness continues into “New Chlorine” with a pensive ache. This initial backyard melancholy is weighted and numbed with a misspent youth that soon bubbles with fiery affect and spills onto the pool deck’s hot concrete.
X’ed Out as a whole is a really interesting space for Tera Melos. As distinct as they seem at times, the new elements that the album works with are hard to pinpoint. In songs like “Bite”, “Sunburn”, “Tropic Lame”, and “Until Lufhansa” these elements come close to revealing themselves as something equally crisp and raw. The track “Slimed” listens like the Pixies playing tribute to the Minutemen, yet there is no outright effort in X’ed Out to reflect anything other than X’ed Out. Whatever these unseen elements are they are wholly original not only to the band but to the album in itself. Closing track “X’ed Out and Tired” with its vocal clarity offers the fullest glimpse into the lyrical processes of the album. A strange innocence of consciousness streams from it, self reflective and confessional, like an inner monologue jotted on wide-ruled binder paper and made sacrament.
It’s fair to say X’ed Out carries a remarkable emotional shock to the dulled and forgotten parts of us that have not been sad, troubled, or jolted in too long. In X’ed Out there’s a release from something past. To bleed old wounds, however petty they’ve become since adulthood commandeered the ship, is refreshing. To be clear, there’s nothing nostalgic about X’ed Out that surfaces in any regard. It simply presents the gifts of new emotion revisited. This may sound a lot like a flowery ‘you’ve made an old man feel young again’ tirade and maybe it is as simple as buried emotion finding release. Such simple things need exorcising too.
Tera Melos is Nick Reinhart, Nathan Latona, and John Clardy. X’ed Out is released through Sargent House later this month. Tour Dates are below.
-Nick Bernal
Pre-order a copy by Clicking Here
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2013 Tour Dates
- Apr 18, 2013 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
- Apr 19, 2013 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
- Apr 20, 2013 – Vancouver, BC @ The Media Club
- Apr 23, 2013 – Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
- Apr 24, 2013 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue 7th Street Entry
- Apr 25, 2013 – Appleton, WI @ Lawrence University (FREE)
- Apr 26, 2013 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
- Apr 27, 2013 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theater/The Magic Stick
- Apr 28, 2013 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
- Apr 29, 2013 – Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
- Apr 30, 2013 – Hamden, CT @ The Space
- May 1, 2013 – Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
- May 2, 2013 – Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory – SOLD OUT
- May 3, 2013 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fire – (early show) SOLD OUT
- May 3, 2013 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fire – (late show) SOLD OUT
- May 4, 2013 – Washington, DC @ DC9
- May 5, 2013 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings Barcade
- May 7, 2013 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
- May 8, 2013 – Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
- May 9, 2013 – Miami, FL @ Bardot
- May 10, 2013 – Ybor City, FL @ Crowbar
- May 11, 2013 – Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub
- May 13, 2013 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
- May 15, 2013 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
- May 16, 2013 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
- May 17, 2013 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
- May 18, 2013 – Austin, TX @ Red 7
- May 19, 2013 – San Antonio, TX @ The Korova
- May 20, 2013 – El Paso, TX @ Low Brow
- May 21, 2013 – Scottsdale, AZ @ Pub Rock
- May 22, 2013 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
- May 23, 2013 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo – (Less than 50 tix left)
- May 24, 2013 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Constellation Room
- May 25, 2013 – San Francisco, CA @ The Bottom of the Hill
- May 26, 2013 – Fresno, CA @ Star Palace Ballroom
And So I Watch You From Afar ‘All Hail Bright Futures’ Sargent House | Album Review
And So I Watch You From Afar have given the world their third full length album this year, releasing the 12 track LP All Hail Bright Futures with Los Angeles based management house and label Sargent House. As one of Ireland’s most notable rock trios in the 21st century, ASIWYFA are a band of the people and have really blown me away with their latest LP. I had heard a few things about the band in the past and on first contact with All Hail Bright Futures, a moment of musical clarity struck me. Imaginative worlds spring forth in their progressive rock odyssey’s with jaw dropping guitar, bass and drum tandem that comes from the minds and hands of some of the most talented artists making rock music.
Tapping into complex configurations of harmony, rhythms and dynamic free for all shifts, there is an endless amount of content coming at you when listening to All Hail Bright Futures. Every measure has something new to say and a new path to reveal. I truly feel with an album this full and dense, it is best absorbed with full attention and the best possible sound system set up if enjoying the record at home. Having listened to the album on a laptop and through a high fidelity system as well, I instantly realized the mix plays a crucial role into the final window and result of what this album is. Once the volume is pushed to the highest levels and the saturation achieves its fullest state in the upper, lower and middle registers of all the instruments and vocals, the album becomes an even more wild beast of artistic beauty.
All Hail Bright Futures is a very important album for modern rock music and one that is at a cross roads in collective stylistic preference to the norm. We love that at SCV and really appreciate the type of tone and quality of recording that was achieved from the band. The frenetic high octane energy and technical prowess is really drawn to a max with numbers like “Big Thinks Do Remarkable”, “Like a Mouse” and “Things Amazing”. The energy is unhinged, only resting for very small intervals for dynamic shifts out of the amplified states. The album finds a much calmer, spaciously layered and more texture base with tracks like “Eunoia”, “Trails” and “Ka Ba Ta Bo Da Ka”. A hazy trail of reverb, delay, loops and other sonic tricks enhance the sounds of these songs for breath taking cinematic results. The glistening bright moments of pop-prog rock and experimentalism conjoin for songs like “AMBULANCE”, “The Stay Golden”, “Rats on Rock”, “Mend and Make Safe” and “All Hail Bright Futures”. With the technical nature of the album it can be easy to miss how superb and variety filled many of the tones are melodically. It’s a rich sound on every account, taking a moment for the senses to calibrate and gain focus on everything present. It’s a challenge that gave me a lot of joy when a deep sense of focus came forth.
The album really takes things to an entirely new state of passion and energy with the 7 minute epic closer “Young Brave Minds”. The beginning segment is very minimal and delicate, ushering in a swelling vortex of guitar tandem that has some of the most subtle beautiful textures behind it. Bass and drums slowly introduce themselves into this surrealistic presentation with a calming and mature tone. I feel a spiritual element to the song that did not appear anywhere else on the record and is the track I connect with the most. Celestial and full of life, the rhythms and bass advance the song into the crushing climax that brings forth one of the most massive reprises of energy on the album. As my senses were locked into a journey of contemplation from the first segment, the jolting nature of the transition is a beautiful testament to the sonic power and force of music. Bass drives the beats in a back and forth motion while guitar reaches for everything out of range in the heavier sections of the track. Trumpet is tastefully brought into the mix as an additive to the math rock guitar lines that sprawl over riff based chord phrases. So many sub cultures of rock music are represented in “Young Brave Minds” with the band coming together for a youthful and determination filled group vocal section at the end. I can envision fans all over the world rejoicing together to this vocal section with so much love and admiration for what everyone created that show, not just the band. Very few rock artists bring an element of dynamics and intimacy that is achieved in “Young Brave Minds”.
And So I Watch You From Afar is an incredible band who has worked harder than most, performing more shows in one year then most bands do in their entire careers. You can hear this seasoned state in every track as the band charges through massive chord and note sequences without flaw, crafts surrealistic sheets of sound, creates an endless sense of rhythms and in pure form, sings their hearts out. I love the state of duality the newest album of theirs holds, riding a fine line between anthemic high energy rock and colorfully enriched deviations into experimental forms. All Hail Bright Futures is a phenomenal piece of modern art.
-Erik Otis
Order a copy by Clicking Here
Mylets “Ampersand” Glassroom Session at Sargent House | Music News
First I’d like to state, this new Sargent House Glassroom Session is incredible in every way possible. Mylets is one of these new additions to SH and his live presentation has really been brought to light with this new video. Performing a new song at the Sargent House headquarters, it’s mind blowing to see him build layer after layer of loops and lead lines much like guitar player and Thrill Jockey alumni Dustin Wong.
“I fully work out songs before I unveil them live, but the live performance is definitely a major part of what Mylets is. It can be frustrating to rely heavily on technology, but I think it pays off when it works out. The songs are presented in a different manner live in that they’re built from the ground up, layer by layer, starting with literally nothing.” – Mylets exclusive SCV interview
From Sargent House | http://www.sargenthouse.com/
Mylets performing live, a new song “Ampersand” from his upcoming debut album (not yet recorded) as part of the Sargent House Glassroom sessions. Shot and edited by Spencer Rollins audio recorded by Chris Common.
Mylets
http://sargenthouse.com/Mylets
https://www.facebook.com/mylets
http://thebandcampofmylets.bandcamp.com
http://twitter.com/myletsband
http://instagram.com/myletsband
See Mylets bands shows: http://artistdata.com/mylets/shows
Tera Melos release new single “Tropic Lame” and announce North American tour with TTNG | Music News
“It’s like visiting a friend who lives on the 14th floor of a building with no elevator, yet he has a grand piano in his apartment,” explains bassist Nathan Latona. “How did he get it there? Was it carried up 14 flights of stairs, assembled on site or what? This record is the piano in the apartment with no elevator. We wanted to do all of the tricky stuff in a way that doesn’t seem noticeable.”
I don’t think we could be more intrigued and excited to hear a record than after reading this statement from Tera Melos bassist Nathan Latona. Especially after listening to the single premiere of “Tropic Lame” this week, a track pulled from their upcoming full length X’ed Out. This Sacramento trio has been bringing a very distinct flavor to the rock community, giving the world a sound of experimentation in progressive modern rock that has created a very dedicated fan base. Patagonian Rats was the first full length from the band after they signed with Sargent House and was a step above everything they had presented to date. Released in 2010, it’s more refined, more colorful, and has an overall sense of dynamics that gives them an entirely new depth.
What has become a two year wait for new music from Tera Melos is finally over with the band presenting a Rolling Stone premiere in “Tropic Lame”, the first single from the new album. Tera Melos will hit the road with label mates TTNG in North America and are scheduled to release their next full length X’ed Out April 26th in all formats. Sargent House has presented the new Tera Melos track in their Soundcloud page for full enjoyment. You can also download a free MP3 of “Tropic Lame” courtesy of Rolling Stone by Clicking Here.
http://www.teramelosmusic.com/
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From Sargent House | http://www.sargenthouse.com/
Sacramento’s genre-benders Tera Melos announce extensive North American tour dates with Sargent House label mates, Britain’s This Town Needs Guns (now simply called TTNG) beginning in April. Tera Melos will be supporting their forthcoming album, X’ed Out, as will TTNG promote their new full length 13.0.0.0.0. Please see complete dates below and specific details (tickets, times, etc) for the shows for Tera Melos HERE and TTNG HERE.
Tera Melos recently premiered a new song from their forthcoming album, X’ed Out via Rolling Stone. The track, “Tropic Lame“ is also available for streaming/sharing HERE. Cover art and full track listing below.
Truly great art is that which can’t be easily understood and dissected, but immediately resonates nonetheless. Tera Melos‘ new full length, X’ed Out is just that kind of adventure. The songs transcend in a way that makes you want to sit friends down to hear it, not only to share the experience, but perhaps in hopes that together you can create the world in which songs like this can be defined. It hits mental buttons and flicks internal switches that you never knew existed, while cleverly obscuring the technical precision for which the band has been known. It’s remarkably multifaceted, incredibly catchy and perplexing to unravel exactly how it all works.
“It’s like visiting a friend who lives on the 14th floor of a building with no elevator, yet he has a grand piano in his apartment,” explains bassist Nathan Latona. “How did he get it there? Was it carried up 14 flights of stairs, assembled on site or what? This record is the piano in the apartment with no elevator. We wanted to do all of the tricky stuff in a way that doesn’t seem noticeable.”
X’ed Out is the culmination of an arc begun on Tera Melos’ first proper full-length, Patagonian Rats (Sargent House, 2010) — a supercollider of 60s pop hooks, Minutemen garage-prog, post-punk evisceration, wiry psychedelia and nearly everything else in-between. Here, the Sacramento based trio burns and simmers simultaneously while situated somewhere without benefit of location services. It’s a nowhere land, X’ed Out of the grid, both inviting and daring. Join us.
From the very first fluttering notes of album opener “Weird Circles” it’s clear that we’re encountering an entirely new Tera Melos. Guitarist/vocalist Nick Reinhart’s steady, rhythmic palm-muted strumming and Latona’s nimble counter-melody glide the song through the ether like Tangerine Dream with stringed instruments. Reinhart’s soft falsetto vocals hover at the forefront until drummer John Clardy’s propulsive beat kicks in short, sharp jolts with wailing noise leading up to a triumphant crescendo. Elsewhere, “Bite” soars with a chiming harmonized guitar drone smeared over repetitive, mechanical sounding rhythms. Haunting Beach Boys style “do do do” vocals lead in to the bubbly, rapid-fire notes of “Sunburn” before erupting into the unabashed pop hooks of the chorus. Mellower moments, like the swooning guitar drone and vocal harmonies of “No Phase” and threadbare-yet-bludgeoning “Melody Nine” show just how richly developed the band’s musical palette has become. “Tropic Lame” sounds almost reminiscent of Goo-era Sonic Youth‘s maligned guitar melodies — skronking, ringing, bending — while the whole band lean into their instruments to create a massive haze of joyful noise.
“I’d initially wanted to make a really simple and minimal record,” Reinhart says. “But our minds wander way too much, so when the songs came to life, they raged a little more than expected. In the process, it became clear that to move forward we needed to think less.” Clardy agrees, “we’re not trying to bludgeon people over their heads with technicality. It’s more deceptively simple.”
X’ed Out will be available everywhere April 16th, 2013 on LP, CD and download via Sargent House.
Omar Rodriguez Lopez ‘Equinox’ | RLP and Sargent House
December 2012 was an interesting time for this world and Omar Rodriguez Lopez let loose three offerings of his musical offspring in the month that prove to be some of his most experimental and borderline psychotic records to date. Unlike the bulk of his solo releases over the last decade, these albums come with no information attached and shed a lot of past sonic skin for entirely new approaches to creating music. Specifics on recording location, who plays on each song and what it all means has been left out this time around. Equinox was the album of the three new records in the batch that I have been drawn towards the most, creating a very exotic pop sound, flirting between angular guitar lines, drenched effects added to just about every piece of sound being processed and new waves of style to the canon of Omar’s music. This is easily the most exploratory yet tasteful music he has released and the inclusion of his vocals adds to the direction he has been going as of late.
Starting with the five minute track “Sueños Salvajes”, this subversive jam piece begins with a beautiful drum solo masked in post production phasing. It feels like the drums are being played on top of a commercial airliner, not inside of a recording studio. Omar brings huge sounding atonal note lines that are reminiscent to moments on his Apocalypse Inside of an Orange record. This would be the outsider version where manipulation is given an entirely new value to the music. Drums create vortexes of rhythm in clever positions while the music shape shifts in every direction you could ever imagine. The bass keeps the groove centered and constant, adding a platform where everything else goes and no sounds are held back. The vocals from Omar are treated with a lot of effects and feel like they come from another world. Those tight little prog and funk licks you can find in a lot of Omar’s rhythm work in the past find their way on the inner sections of the layers while psychedelic tones rise outward from this saturated sound.
One of the songs on the album that has stuck in my consciousness is the fifth track “Mermaid Grapefruit”. The first thought that came to mind was a bridging and heavy emergence of early Volta in the salsa prog rhythms found on “Drunkship of Lanters” and the immaculate pristine like guitar sheets from the intro of “Eunuch Provocateur”. The layering is less concentrated and the groove has a breathing value to it that makes it shine with a beauty I have not heard in a lot of Omar’s new works. The bass reverberates powerful emotions while glistening guitar shimmers and bounces off of psychedelic synth layering. The vocals are again highly treated but are sung in a higher and brighter register than most of the other tracks. Natural sounding percussion and a magnetically charged glow leaves the groove in a much more primitive and raw state. It’s a very deep song to my senses where I can feel every emotion Omar is conveying through the tones, rhythms and melodic lines. The small and subtle guitar additives create a very exotic layer, giving way to a beautiful rhythm solo at the end which fades out all too soon.
Photo from RLP & Sargent House
Another stand out piece on the album that is very new territory for Omar is the track “Dientes Para el Osmosis”. The synth has an 80′s derived tonality to it – crystal like – while the guitar is unhinged. Bass is roaming and exploring through some incredible territory of notes and the drums are really cutting the music up in every way possible. It has a tipsy feel to it, as if the entire music is tilting off its axis and playing the balancing act back and forth. The bass is really impressive on the back side and the guitar becomes rather violent and pronounced with fire fueled emotions after each successive measure. Once the guitar is treated to its maximum range of effects, it sounds as if Larry Young took over on keys and a flashback of his early days with Tony Williams Lifetime became his source of inspiration. Natural piano makes an appearance as well but in a very unorthodox manner. As the music breaks open and shatters into endless expression, the piano finds some very odd lines to walk down itself. The ending section has a lot of really great rhythm guitar parts embedded, reminiscent of the communication Omar is known to have with John Frusciante over their career. Sun Ra esk synth drones eventually fill the entire mix to the top for an overpowering result. It’s a track that serves as one of the more intense and dynamic pieces. The end is given the full out treatment of climbs and fall outs as the music crashes into a wave of somber energy and a very delicate aura arises. It’s unbelievable how far the piece goes and is able to end on such a peaceful and cinematic note.
The song on the album that I have come to enjoy the most is the longest track on Equinox, “Popolon”. The progressive rock and dub stylings of Omars past manifests itself full force in this track. Bass bounces on the low end while very linear layers create a hazy but more bridged sense of dynamics. There isn’t as many lines crossing over one another and it leaves all the room in the world for the beautiful state of groove to emerge. The bass lines really pull me in when it starts exploring more notes within the pulsing meter cycles. The sense of colors and rhythm in the guitar parts is also very special. The way the vocals are drenched in effects, the sly in the pocket drumming and so many other elements create a unique style that is rich in culture and youth. This is one of the darkest funk influenced rhythm sections ever presented on a Omar track and it feels like the groove will never end.
Equinox is an album of many styles, many names and many directions. Pop to ambient noise, there is something to be taken from all of the music hemispheres of Omars world here. After repeated listens, I have come to the conclusion that it stands as tall and exhilarating as anything else in his works. This could be the end of an era or the beginning of a new one with how morphed and stretched out this record is. It’s a beautiful thing though that the world doesn’t know a definitive answer for that question anymore.
-Erik Otis
http://rodriguezlopezproductions.com/
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If you are new to the solo albums of Bosnian Rainbows guitarist/vocalist, a very good landing point to get an idea of his entire body of works can be found in the compilation release Telesterion released by Sargent House and Rodriguez Lopez Productions in spring of 2011.
The music releasing output of Omar Rodriguez Lopez slowed down considerably in 2012 by his own standards set over the last decade but is still prolific in terms of most modern recording artists. Before releasing three records at the very end of 2012, albums released from Omar in 2012 include the full length LP’s Un Corazón De Nadie, Saber, Querer, Osar y Callar and Octopus Kool Aid.
Equinox serves as one of three final releases from 2012, all dropping only a few days before the new years. With the band he co-created, Bosnian Rainbows, releasing their debut track and info on more touring, the anticipation builds high for the debut album by Bosnian Rainbows expected this spring. To get a really good idea where Bosnian Rainbows and particularly Omar Rodriguez Lopez is headed, check out the interview Omar did with City Arts in October of 2012.
Bosnian Rainbows premier “Torn Maps” from their upcoming debut full length | Music News
Power pop and experimental rock group Bosnian Rainbows have been touring non stop since their inception into the music hemisphere last year, blowing minds and covering a lot of ground despite the lack of studio material released. That changes today as the groups management with Sargent House has premiered the catchy pop piece “Torn Maps”, the first single to be released from their still as of yet untitled debut full length.
Released through the Sargent House Soundcloud page and NME today, Deantoni Parks, Nicci Kasper, Terri Gender-Bender and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez have created a delightful sound that carries on a tradition of many experimentally driven power pop bands before their time. Pristine synth layers on the low and high end, electronically grounded and organic driven drum beats, astonishing shape shifting/tone inflected vocal exercises and very tasteful – less is more – type of guitar work.
“Torn Maps” is such a simple yet powerful and dynamic driven piece, beginning with a minimal introduction from Deantoni on his kit and Terri segueing the band in by saying “Go!” A short wave of guitar sheets runs smoothly and organically over the first measure and then snaps right into rhythmic place. Melodically rich chords and singular note lines are a constant in the verse sections from the guitar, with palm muting interwoven around some thick synth and drum patterns beautifully. Around the middle section the music unravels into more experimental forms with an incredible synth solo from Nicci that gives the song a completely different feel and vibe. The guitar sounds very open in this section, bringing back that essence of sheets that was brought forth in the very first measure. This section submerges the listen with a divergent portal of tones, leading to a sonic fallout where all is left is a guitar de-fragmenting into nothing. Dynamics are a strong characteristic in this section, allowing a reprise of energy from the the band with a full on guitar solo that ends the “Torn Maps” in a powerful state.
If you have been following the works of Omar Rodriguez Lopez and his band The Mars Volta over the last decade, than this will either be a welcomed surprised or something that draws you away. Regardless of what overall affect it has on the music community, it’s a sound we really love and believe in. In an age where people tend to do for themselves unlike they do for others, it’s beautiful to see people step outside of themselves for a more group effort.
-Erik Otis
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Sargent House Glassroom Session ft Marriages playing an acoustic version of “The Shadows of My Name” | Music News
Marriages of Los Angeles, CA are a new band on the Sargent House imprint that we have taken a lot of interest towards in the last few. With Sargent House singing the illustrious Red Sparowes a few years back and releasing a full length and an EP, it was a big treat when we got wind of two members of the group forming Marriages. Releasing the six song debut record Kitsune with Sargent House, the group created a very expansive vehicle of sound with this record and showed enough sonic differences that would separate them from Red Sparowes.
We have been loving all of the Glassroom Sessions from Sargent House and will be posting them through the year as they release. It was a very welcomed gift to see this video finally as the acoustic presence of a band is much different from the normal electric set up rock music thrives in. The Glassroom Sessions at Sargent House have a special character to them and this edition takes on that life of delicacy and intimacy without artistic compromise that all of them stand for.
From Sargent House | http://www.sargenthouse.com/
Marriages performing an acoustic version of a new song called “The Shadows Of My Name” in the Sargent House Glassroom.
Shot and edited by David Romo
Audio Recorded by Chris Common
MARRIAGES
http://marriagesband.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MarriagesBand
http://twitter.com/marriagesband
http://instagram.com/marriagesband
http://marriagesmusic.bandcamp.com
http://sargenthouse.com
Q&A with Mylets of Sargent House
For the next month, Indiana based Mylets will live out what may be the last of his days there and will relocate to the city of his new label and land of smog and soul crushing traffic: Los Angeles. He will of course be joining his new brothers and sisters at the Sargent House family, a label whose penchant for experimentation, high states of creativity and raw energy in various rock spectrums have made them one of the best independent labels of their kind. Mylets will continue this bridge into the future of rock and roll Sargent House has valiantly been on for the half decade or so.
Mylets has a particular type of sound that encompasses a lot of modern forms of experimental rock that is as wide spread in influence as artists like Battles and Tera Melos. His relocation to Los Angeles is perfect for what he is doing and the label he has joined will surely give him the right tools to have the best chance at success. Rolling solo and performing every sound heard on his first three EP’s self released, it’s a beautiful yet striking sound that fills the mind with an endless sea of tones to process. This very young and talented individual will be recording his first full length album for Sargent House and will surely hit the road like a mad man after the album is completed.
We shared some dialogue with Mylets over the last few weeks to find out what makes him tick, his inspirations, some random nonsense and what we can expect from him in the coming year. Enjoy!
http://www.sargenthouse.com/
http://www.facebook.com/mylets
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Mylets interview with Sound Colour Vibration
Conducted by Xavi Vilaplana
Sound Colour Vibration: I’m going to start with some sort of obvious question like, how does Indiana have its say in your music? What about it has made your music so beautiful and so incredibly emotional?
Mylets: There’s not a whole lot to do here in Indiana, so there’s plenty of time to make mistakes, reflect on mistakes, grow from them, and not be distracted while doing so. I can’t say that there’s any signature Indiana landmark that leaves a mark on my music, but the general greyness of it definitely helps as a metaphorical “canvas”.
SCV: What five albums can you not live without?
Mylets: Three of a Perfect Pair – King Crimson, Armchair Apocrypha – Andrew Bird, Sketches For My Sweetheart the Drunk – Jeff Buckley, Flux – 22 and Patagonian Rats – Tera Melos.
SCV: Early day Against Me, Xiu Xiu (loops, at times) and folk punk resonate in your music. It’s incredibly melodic. Do any of these musicians/styles influence your sound?
M: I’m actually relatively narrow-minded when it comes to listening to music, but I’m definitely working on it. I’d say the Mylets sound gets a lot of inspiration from artists like Battles, Marnie Stern, The Pixies, and 80’s King Crimson.
SCV: What’s your favorite animal, and if you could paint it any color, what would it be?
M: Hahaha no…
SCV: How does your sound translate live? Loop pedals and drums machines? Is it frustrating to make it all work out or have you gotten most of it down?
M: I fully work out songs before I unveil them live, but the live performance is definitely a major part of what Mylets is. It can be frustrating to rely heavily on technology, but I think it pays off when it works out. The songs are presented in a different manner live in that they’re built from the ground up, layer by layer, starting with literally nothing.
SCV: What drum machine do you use?
M: I use an Alesis SR-16 (for now). I should get a few bucks for advertising that thing.
SCV: Are you interested in using a live drum kit for your full length and/or live shows?
M: I’ll definitely be using them for the full length. I plan on using a hybrid of the electronic drums and live drums on the album. It’d take a very precise drummer to pull off a live show, but it could happen down the road.
SCV: How did you get onto Sargent House?
M: I have no idea…I woke up one morning with emails to and from Cathy, then there were phone calls between the two of us, and then I was out visiting her in L.A, signing papers. It happened so ridiculously fast. I contacted her back in 2011 just to get my name familiar in her head. A year and 2 more EPs later, I got back in touch.
SCV: What are some of your favorite artists on Sargent House?
M: That’s an unfair question! I’ve been listening to Chelsea Wolfe on repeat lately though. She is beyond words.
SCV: Do you think you’ll remain in Indiana?
M: No, actually. I’m heading westward early 2013 to live in Los Angeles, where I’ll be recording my first full-length.
SCV: What feelings are you taking into your full length?
M: There’s a grand idea forming behind it all that I hadn’t exactly planned, but am very interested in and proud of. It’s basically taking the generic comic book “origin story” and applying it to real life character development. It isn’t a concept album or anything, but there is a recurring theme.
SCV: If anything at all, what can we expect from it?
M: It’s way bigger than anything I’ve created so far. The songs are more layered, more emotional, and catchier. There might be some more singing-style vocals as well, but it’ll still have a great deal of shouting.
SCV: How are your friends/family reacting to your movement over to L.A.?
M: It’s a massive change and I haven’t even quite wrapped my head around it yet. Everyone is supportive, but it’s going to be weird to actually make the move.
SCV: The cartoons on your albums, I believe one of them is referred to as the “Colossal Grin Guy”, do you draw them?
M: I have drawn all the artwork so far and plan on continuing to do so. I’ve been working on my illustrations and drawing a lot lately, so I should be able to do some things that are a little less primitive (though there’s nothing wrong with simplicity if it gets the message across).
SCV: When playing live, is their room for improvisation?
M: I’d imagine so, but I’m too busy balancing everything to really try that out in a live setting. I improvise when practicing by myself and often adapt those improvisations into the composition, but rarely try new things out in a live environment.
SCV: How does your voice feel after a show?
M: It’s a bit rough, but definitely nothing painful. I’d definitely say my body is more worn out than my voice after a good (high energy) show.
SCV: What are some of your most important practice techniques?
M: Scales, picking exercises, etc. I’ll do a lot of work with synchronizing my footwork as well.
SCV: Does environment play a crucial role in your composing or do you feel you escape from everything around you when in composing mode?
M: I understand very little about what inspires composition so far. Most of the songs I’ve written have just sort of wandered into my life without me noticing. It’s weird, but I remember writing very few songs.
SCV: How important has music become to your life?
M: It’s everything I do at this point. Anything else is just a contribution to when I am actually creating or performing.
SCV: Your artwork has a definite anime ring to me gone obviously western. Where do you derive your inspiration from your visual art from?
M: There’s definitely a cartoonish aspect to it all. I drew as young kid all the time and I guess I just never lost that unrealistic and crude approach to drawing.
SCV: Do you want to bring in more people into the Mylets?
M: No, Mylets will be my project until it ends. I look forward to working with other musicians in the future, but that would be separate from Mylets, which is very personal to me.
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Check out two more interviews with Mylets at the following links:
http://beardedgentlemenmusic.com/2012/12/14/15-questions-with-mylets/
http://www.wiux.org/blog/2012/10/26/pledge-fest-interview-mylets/
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The VSS “Nervous Circuits” Deluxe Reissue | Sargent House
Although only having released one full length in the late 90’s (Nervous Circuit), The VSS was monumental in its assault on punk and post-punk ears. An assault crafted artfully with a penchant for fire and zeal. It has gone to influence some of the greater punk oriented musicians of our current days. That being said, their career was short-lived and some haven’t had the opportunity to submerge themselves into the vessel of VSS.
The VSS were known for their horror-tainted synths layered in berserk guitar lines. Their live shows imaginative with lighting done by themselves in a sort of Syd Barrett-esque way giving their living performance a staggering take on what a punk show can be. They gave way to many bands that Sonny Kay (front man/singer) later released on his late GSL label. Acts as powerful as the Locust. The VSS has been a redefining forum in how punk can de handled and taken with gut-wrenching guitars, synths that will have you dance for days and funk-low bass lines that will have bodies layered across the dance-mosh pit. Sonny Kay’s voice eager to be heard, a voice that redefines emotional heritage with sincerity that is as intriguing as it is painful.
Their influence continues to reign in realms of noise, punk and dark wave. Here is a sort of Brainiac induced Fugazi that is maddened with occult rage. High energy shows, high-energy noise collision melodies dancing around delayed vocals that shout hysteric hyena laughter. Unforgettable bass lines that are influenced by Nation of Ulysses and One Last Wish. The VSS took post-hardcore to realms full of imagination.
Sargent House has taken on a reissue that not only includes the full length Nervous Circuit but a second LP containing 25 minutes of unreleased material along with a version of their singles released in 96. It’s a double LP with a whopping short-lived history that everyone, I think, should listen to. A very real, raw example of what punk can be.
by Xavi Vilaplana
http://sargenthouse.com/The_VSS
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Various press on this new reissue of VSS’s debut and sole album Nervous Circuits
- TERREOREYES: http://www.terroreyes.tv/2012/06/21/stream-the-vss-nervous-circuits/
- Pitchfork: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/14637-lunar-weight/
- exclaim.ca: http://exclaim.ca/News/vss_prepping_nervous_circuits_vinyl_reissue_hint_at_reunion_dates
- Impose Magazine: http://www.imposemagazine.com/bytes/the-vss–reissue
- Brooklyn Vegan: http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2012/06/the_vss_reunite.html
- Modern Vinyl: http://modern-vinyl.com/2012/11/20/the-vss-getting-double-lp-reissue/
- Metal Underground: http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=36387
- Absolute Punk: http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=2953392
- ALARM Magazine: http://alarm-magazine.com/2008/the-vss-reissue-nervous-circuits/
The Sentimental Engine Slayer from director Omar Rodríguez-López now available for pre-order | Film News
In 2010, multi-instrumentalist Omar Rodríguez-López embarked on his first official film release with the full length feature The Sentimental Engine Slayer. First premiering at the illustrious International Film Festival Rotterdam, I was really impressed by how the film made me feel and the type of social situations it touched upon. With Omar Rodríguez-López playing the lead role of Barlam, the experiences he is thrown into shape the process in which this character passes through the threshold of being a boy and entering into manhood. How he gets there is a process that is in some ways surreal and in every other way universal.
Two years after its release in the film world and the hard working staff at ORLP and Sargent House have come up with a proper DVD release of this landmark point in Omar Rodríguez-López’s career. The DVD will include the original full length feature along with deleted scenes and a bonus montage for the extras. TSES shirts are also available in their online store.
Click Here to purchase The Sentimental Engine Slayer DVD, shirts or bundle package.
The Sentimental Engine Slayer tells the compelling, confounding tale of the overdue coming of age of a twenty-something misfit named Barlam. Barlam’s awkward transition from boy to man is as much the story of struggling to find one’s essence in a world of stereotypes as it is an indictment of the distorted reality of family life in the disengaged 21st century. A bottom-rung grocery bagger whose neo-incestuous relationship with his addict sister, Natalia, causes him no small amount of grief and disillusionment, Barlam seeks solace in the convoluted wisdom of what few male peers are available, namely his androgynous, alcoholic boss, Oscar, and the sister’s simple-minded boyfriend, Zack. Seeking an explanation as to the strange circumstances of his apparent lack of family structure, as well as the respect from others fundamentally absent in his mundane model-building existence, Barlam is soon led astray amid a seedy underworld of prostitutes, hustlers and addicts. The labyrinthine plot soon begs questioning as to where reality ends and fantasy begins, Barlam shifting effortlessly between hapless punching bag, assertive surrogate father figure, and rage-prone psychopath. Written by Sonny Kay
RLP and SH reissue “Omar Rodriguez Lopez & John Frusciante” on CD and LP | Music News
The Omar Rodriguez Lopez & John Frusciante collaboration record has been one of my favorites in both artists output of work, showing a side of the two musical forces that reflects what one might hear if these two were playing together for friends and in the confinements of their homes. With a sound that sounds as primitive and raw as it comes, it’s a very personal album that I go back to often for inspiration. The crew over at Rodriguez Lopez Productions and Sargent House prepared a reissue of this album on CD and Vinyl with the first 500 orders of the LP version containing a 11×17″ folded posted designed from the cover of the album. The first 500 were pressed on red vinyl which of course quickly sold out and the remaining prints will surely go sooner then later. I absolutely love this record and am very pleased to be able to cover the reissue today at SCV.
Order a copy by Clicking Here
Here is our review of this album as posted in May of 2010
There have been various references of this collaboration taking shape into album form for quite some time and today is finally the day. John Fruciante and Omar Rodriguez have finally released an album together. What’s really great about this release is you have the ability to donate to a really great cause “Keep Music In Schools”. Omar hasn’t been known for this type of release where all the profits go to a separate group or cause, because of that I am really proud of these two men for opening the doorways to help the youth, the future cosmic warriors who are going to push society into yet another phase of compassion, integrity and discipline in the arts. Frusciante has always worked with Omar on various projects, including his movie ventures, solo albums, the dub/latin project Defacto and of course his Grammy award-winning band that has been running for almost a decade strong, The Mars Volta. What these musicians have given each other will never be fully realized, not even by Frusciante and Omar. What can be analyzed is what they have given each other has propelled them into stages of musical release that is unseen in todays pop artists. Omar and Frusciante have beautiful creations together and this is the pinnacle thus far of that relationship they share. I have witnessed Frusciante perform with Omar on stage a hand full of times and the trading of energy, spacing and feeling always touched a core part of me that resonated with vibrancy and honesty.
This album starts out with a piece titled “4:13 am”, it’s an electric piece that is very majestic and contains all the nice slippery and saturated overtones that are so common place in Omar’s music. The atmosphere in the first track is very dream like, emotions you would find in a movie or book filled with deep abstract meaning. The sample effects of birds add to the total atmosphere and close the track out to bring it directly into “0=2″. This is a mostly acoustic based song that came from the gsl 45 series released a few years back, which the song “0″ comes from as well. Acoustic bass with interlacing acoustic guitar lines are followed in tandem with bright lyrical leads and bubbling synth. After “0=2″ comes the metallic and smooth track “LOE”. For any Volta fans who have heard the rare track ”Ambuletz” and love that sound, you’ll be more than pleased to dive into this song. Some incredible soloing follows a very space influenced and dissonant intro. The main section and soloing stretches across an a very smooth electronic back beat. A piece that sounds like it could be the soundtrack song for a car chase scene. The music presented after these tracks follows in the same vein of the joining of acoustic and electronic forces. No side is overshadowed or out does the other, emotions and feelings from the acoustic and electric world catapult themselves back and forth into a sound that is uniquely theirs. When a musician achieves this unpractical balance, credit must be given to those involved and to those willing to take the voyage. Omar has been releasing more acoustic material into his records, a direction that has given a fresh breath to his sound. This is a beautiful record made by musicians who have created a strong brotherhood. Please share with your friends and loved ones, Omar is making timeless records, it’s about time we all acknowledge that…
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Label Spotlight
Porter Records
2935 S. Fish Hatchery Rd, #414
Madison, WI 53711 / USA
Porter Records was born in 2005 out of a love for crate digging in the basements of record shops. Porter’s founder, Luke Mosling, has a talent for finding the obscure, beautiful and strange recordings that may have previously gone unheard by a larger audience. This talent started the reissue portion of the Porter Records catalog.
When doing reissues, Porter works hard at creating strong relationships with the original artists or their estates. This allows Porter to respect not only the original vision of the artist and their recordings, but also to respect the vision the artist has for the future. Porter’s goal is to make these reissues more widely known and recognized as important pieces of art within their respected genres.
Porter Records is more than a reissue label. Porter has over 40 releases by modern composers and performers that bring something special to the current day music tapestry. Each release is like a hidden jewel providing its own unique color and brilliance. Porter Records is very proud to have such talented artists and a diverse catalog of genres in a time when the music industry is pumping out replica after replica.
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