Sunday, November 23, 2008

ALBUM OF THE WEEK


Iron Lung 'Sexless / / No Sex' 2007, Prank Records

So this time around we are going to imagine dying in a medic tent, or in some weird and horribly diseased ward of a prison hospital, while suffering uncontrollable fear and anxiety that our time is about to end. Iron Lung are what that may or may not sound like. More like a research institute than a band, Iron Lung are pretty much the most imaginative and harshest of the powerviolence outfits today. A two piece, they pummel their sonic weapon so relentlessly it is as if they themselves are some kind of homemade war machine. But not in a tough guy way or anything lame like that, this band is the real real. They put forth more than just smash your head powerviolence (Iron Lung definitely smashes your head), but a whole identity accompanies the records as result of their concepts and whatnot. None of the songs are about anything except being imprisoned, medical descriptions, coming to visceral terms with slow death without anesthesia, evaluating body counts and experiencing disassociation from your military officer status, etc. Anyways they do it in a way that most bands cannot. They've created a whole climate that Iron Lung records exist in and this makes them much more than a band, so to speak. Its like they barely indicate that they are dudes playing in a hardcore band, instead its about this never ending archive of faceless, sterile brutality. Best said, they are strange and they rule. The guitar and drum attack destroys, rips so hard, break your bones type shit. Crossed Out-stye, Infest kind of, it switches up all over the place, I mean just fucking rips. From the Portland/Seattle area, they've been a constant in the west-coast powerviolence thing for many years, and put out about one million 7"s and splits and 3"s and 5"s and all sorts of very limited and strangely packaged/sized records, though this is their second LP. Their dense catalog and excessive touring, overall major presence in the d.i.y. punk/hardcore world has certainly been noticed. Nick Blinko, author/illustrator and main person behind Rudimentary Peni for almost thirty years, has illustrated the cover of Sexless / / No Sex, and that is a big deal because he has not done that in a long time or whatever. Plus it is on Prank, and pretty much all their records are quality joints. And ok, oh shit, my readers here we have a prime example of the incestuous nature of this sort of thing. Prank put Crow 'Bloody Tear' (reviewed a month or so ago) and there's a connection, and since Hatred Surge (a few months back) is traditionally a one man deal, Iron Lung has been his 'band' for live shows and whatnot. So they're all like cousins or whatever. I got this LP from them while they were on the road last year, and was glad to meet them because our fellow articles.org contributor, bite itself, is good buddies with them and they have this noise project together called Pig Heart Transplant. Theres already been several pressings of Sexless / / No Sex since last year, there is even one with a special twelve page booklet of artwork. This is a band that I've been into for a long while and they are worth checking out for really.

And this week with,
The Neon Andrea
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1 Xibalba's Discovery – Xibalba is the Mayan Underworld. Its pretty much one of the most amazing underworld's you'll hear about. It has six deadly houses, each of bats, cold, razors, darkness, jaguars, and fire. 3 rivers of Puss, Scorpions and Blood protected it. Earlier this year they found after a vast network of underground water caves – A dry cave filled with human remains and scorpions they think might be it --- TIGHT. That means Mayans made their underworld. DOUBLE TIGHT. This happened in August but the more I read about Mayan Mythologies the more my head explodes onto itself.

2 US Vice President Dick Cheney & former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted by a South Texas grand jury on charges of prisoner abuse -- It makes me all tingly feeling.

3 Brunch – Its breakfast on my schedule – at lunch time. And for some reason everyone is cooking amazing amounts of pumpkin flavored stuff. That's the bonus to Fall Brunching.

4 Homemade Gifts – Why I don't really care for the holidays I do love giving gifts so I have begun my super plan to take old stuff and draw all over it and then hand it off in hopes of some happiness. Its an excellent excuse to hang out and draw on whatever I feel like.

5 Homophoni.com – as I get into drawing it becomes harder and harder to get the right tunes. This is an experimental label run by a friend, its full of some gems that you can download for free or stream. Its a hodgepodge but 2008 has been great and I highly recommend Joe Foster's work or Maximalism – a huge collage of 5,000 1-2 second clips from 2,712 albums

6 Hot Showers – I have been pretty sick and kicking it homestead style [ notice the list ] and can I say a super hot showers are the Holy Grail of cold weather and snot noses.

7 The Super Duo -- need I say more! Aids 3-D, Gilbert & George, Jake & Dinos Chapman are all producing stuff that's blowing my mind.

8 The Perfect Bad Sci-Fi movie – I'm going to start Tron after this and I'm so pumped its ridiculous. May I also recommend Flash Gordon, WestWorld [ that comes with double recommendation ], Logan's Run, FutureWorld, and Barbarella. The thing about 70's movies it is of like going to church; it's a very over the top preachy message with a bunch of ridiculous plot. Only it has babes, lazers, and bitching costumes. It quelches my southern Baptist roots in super secret.

9 Viva Pinata Trouble in Paradise – Sand and Ice Gardens, a new array of piƱatas and a trick stick. I'm a big fan of the first one and quickly falling in love with next one.

10. Curry – This is like a hot shower explosion for my taste buds. When used properly it can bring me to sweet tears of joy. Pretty much curry on everything is the way we have hold down the fort on #4.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Homophoni.com is rad. I learned about it at Neon Apocalypse and it slightly restored my appreciation for music, which as of recent has ranged between "music is mental piss" and "music is aural fashion shit".

Also, the best is when you take a hot shower, cranking it up to scalding at the end, then hop out, still steaming, straight into eating curry goat with fries.

Fortune: Your immune system will nominate you for a prestigious award

the xarlacc said...

oh eric, how anonymous you aren't

andepie said...

You should submit something eric --- also where you the appreciator of blue dresses? I love that one its ingrained in my head. No one ever appreciates a blue dress......so there was something holy about it.

Anonymous said...

For some reason I've been having trouble posting stuff as myself lately. I am, indeed, quite appreciative of blue dresses and I have in fact made three whole contributions: a badly written guide for field cleaning rabbits, a picture of Gunther and some strange canine creature, and my top 10. I would do more, but digitized electrical currents aren't my preferred medium.

PS: Solomon Burke sangs good