Neil Young - Archives, Vol. 2: Disc 9 - Look Out For My Love (1975-1976)

Reprise Records: 2020

Full confession: the period between Zuma and Rust Never Sleeps is mostly a blank for yours truly. Granted, only two albums came out in that time (well, two and a half, but I'll get to that), with only two songs from them considered 'Essential Rustie Material'. One of them is the guitar epic Like A Hurricane, which I already have on the live album Weld, so no point in getting the scattershot American Stars 'n Bars just for that. The other is the country-leaning Comes A Time, from the album of the same name. I don't have that, but am not in any real hurry to ever get it. The tune's fine, just not on my 'must have' list, much less the record it comes from.

Disc nine of Archives, Vol. 2 doesn't reach quite that far though, capping this collection off in 1976. The first few tunes that open things are more Crazy Horse songs that likely would have featured on the vaporware album Chrome Dreams, including Like A Hurricane. Following that are two love songs, Lotta Love, and Look Out For My Love. The most surprising thing about these, at least for me, is they actually sound different from each other, Lotta Love more a loungy tune while Look Out For My Love inching closer to country.

Actually-actually, what's really surprising is Look Out For My Love was chosen for the title of this disc, and not just because Like A Hurricane is the more obvious choice. No, it's odd because this disc heavily features songs from the short-lived pairing between him and Stephen Stills, The Stills-Young Band.

Yep, despite quite the on-again, off-again musical relationship, the former Buffalo Springfield lads decided to give it another go in the studio. Story goes Mr. Stills was already in the works with a solo joint of his own, then had Neil over to hear some of the songs. Neil apparently got quite inspired with the tunes, such that he abandoned a tour with Crazy Horse to work with Stephen. Harsh, bro, but hey, maybe some truly kinetic jams would emerge from these sessions to rival even their work with Crosby and Nash. They even brought them in for some backing tracks, perhaps leading to a full-on CSNY reunion, but it was not to be, Stills and Young scrubbing their voices from the finished product. Harsh, bro, but hey, at least the forthcoming tour featuring Stephen and Neil would lead to some dynamite guitar action to hear. Except in typical Neil fashion, he flaked on his friend mid-tour, with one of the most classic kiss-off notes left behind. HARSH, bro!

As for the resultant songs, they're mostly pleasant rock, some leaning blues, some leaning country, but all sounding quite clean and polished compared to most of Neil's body of work. So much so, that songs like Ocean Girl and Midnight On The Bay could even be considered... *sigh* Yacht Rock. Of course Neil did a Yacht Rock.

Neil Young - Archives, Vol. 2: Disc 8 - Dume (1975)

Reprise Records: 2020

So I thought I would be skipping this disc as well. I mean, just look at the cover art: it's basically Zuma all over again, and indeed, eight of that album's nine songs appear on here. Yet that's only half of the musical content contained within, the rest versions of songs that wouldn't be heard in LP form until at least Rust Never Sleeps. And even then, we get different versions here, so wholly unique items exclusive to Archives, Vol. 2. Welp, guess that settles that.

If you've been keeping up with your handy-dandy Neil Young time-line mega-diary, you'd know this was about the point where his long-time backing band of Crazy Horse finally found themselves a worthy successor to the fallen Danny Whitten. Like, don't get me wrong, Nils Lofgren was a fine stand-in for the time he was there, but the musical wonderkid was a bit too talented to be playing rhythm guitar in an unabashed, undeniably average garage rock band.

Frank “Poncho” Sampedro, however, fit perfectly snug into the roll, in large part to already being a massive fan of the group's '60s work with Neil. Intimately familiar with their classics such that he could easily jam away with Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina, all he had to do was prove himself to the mighty Young as well, which he done did while the boys partied the nights away in Malibu. Guess that's why Archives has titled this disc Dume, the name of the other cove and beach in that region. The more famous one, of course, being Zuma Beach. What, did you think the 1975 album was titled that because of something Aztecan related? Haha, who'd ever think that? *cough*

Seriously though, such a connection to Aztecs and Incans makes sense, what with Neil going off on about mystical danger birds and killer conquistadors. He may have felt a full album of such material would have been overkill though, so songs like Ride My Llama and Pocahontas got the axe in favour of more tunes about break-ups like Don't Cry No Tears and Stupid Girl. I don't know what's crazier though: that such songs wouldn't officially appear again for several years, and then only as folk versions, or that Powderfinger wouldn't either. Okay, so it wouldn't have fit on Zuma, but couldn't it have been rescued for American Stars 'n Bars? Decade? Heck, Comes A Time, if nothing else but for the LOLs?

Supposedly, such songs may have ended up on another of Neil's tantalizing lost albums, Chrome Dreams. Makes sense, between this and material in the next disc in Archives, Vol. 2 having plenty 'nuff for another LP. T'was not to be though, thus wonderful songs like Hawaii, Born To Run, Kansas, and Too Far Gone would go unheard for decades (save the odd concert bootleg). Man, guess Rusties should be thankful Ride My Llama, Pocahontas and Powderfinger only took a 'brief' half-decade to appear on Rust Never Sleeps.

Neil Young - Archives, Vol. 2: Disc 7 - Homegrown (1974-1975)

Reprise Records: 2020

This album was pencilled in for a release after On The Beach. Pre-hype from those who'd heard it thought it would be just the record to resuscitate Neil's career back to his Harvest glory. Bold claims, and maybe words that should have been left unspoken in Mr. Young's presence, as at the eleventh hour, he pulled it from publication, going with the two-year old Tonight's The Night instead.

The long-held reasoning behind this is due to the fact both were played back-to-back off the same reel of tape. Comparing the two, Neil felt Tonight's The Night was the stronger collection of songs, and perhaps he's right in that regard. As time's passed, however, with more music from this era of his career emerging, a clearer picture's formed. As the previous disc in this Archives collection can attest, Neil's relationship woes were at an all-time low, songs almost exclusively being written about his feelings over Carrie Snodgress' absence. Some of these were strong enough to consider studio time with, with a backing band, proper LP roll-out, and everything.

Swell beans, but gosh, these are still quite personal and emotionally raw, aren't they? Like, at least the songs in Tonight's The Night also dealt with broader topics of living life on the skids, not just about the tragic deaths of friends. Maybe best to shelve Homegrown for a little while longer, let it sit while those emotional wounds heal some. See if you're feeling the same after, and if it's really such a good idea to let the world get this close to one's broken heart. And wait... and wait... and, oh, hi, fine lady, your name's Pegi, you say? Life moves on.

Still, it's undeniable that Homegrown would have made for a fascinating companion piece to Harvest, had it been released back when. Heck, it still could serve as such, should you choose to listen to them back to back. With songs like Out On The Weekend, Harvest, Heart Of Gold, and A Man Needs A Maid, you can glean a sense of growing puppy-love from Neil, a whirlwind relationship on the rise. Homegrown, meanwhile, is the inevitable break-up, bitter and despondent. I didn't say it was a happy companion piece.

Musically, we're in familiar territory as Harvest, with slide-guitarist Ben Keith and bassist Tim Drummond from The Stray Gators on hand. There's a couple more rocky country jams on here (Vacancy), some talking about weed (We Don't Smoke It No More, the titular cut ...yeah man, feckin' 'home-grown' *anxious pat of the head*). Elsewhere, White Line, a song that remained unpublished until 1990's Ragged Glory, is given the gentle acoustic go here, while Star Of Bethlehem with Emmylou Harris would appear much sooner on American Stars 'n Bars. And smack in the middle is Florida, an... abstract spoken-word bit? Huh, just when you thought you'd heard Neil Young do every style of music under the sun (and beyond!), he throws in something leftfield like this. What's next, Yacht Rock?

Neil Young - Archives, Vol. 2: Disc 6 - The Old Homestead (1974)

Reprise Records: 2020

Despite the rather jovial start to the Tonight's The Night tour, it didn't take long for things to go just as sour as the Harvest tour. Unsurprisingly, poor ol' Shakey grew even more despondent, retreating back to the studio with some pals, took a bunch of supplements called 'honey slides' (surely up on Erowid, if you're curious), and came out with On The Beach, an album that goes about as deep into the 'ditch' as you'll ever hear. Yeah, it has some peppy tunes like the Crazy Horse regular Walk On and the 'rawker' Revolution Blues. Gads though, Motion Pictures, On The Beach, Ambulance Blues... does that poor violin ever sound like a sad, howling hound dog.

I've already covered most of this in my review of On The Beach though, so let's skip that particular disc in Archives, Vol. 2, and move onto disc number six, The Old Homestead (1974). Seems things just kept getting worse for Mr. Young, his relationship with Carrie Snodgress crumbling as well. Makes sense that he'd start writing a pile of songs dealing with his feelings on the matter, using his own studio to record acoustic versions of them. Never mind if he ever intended to release them to a wider audience, there was at least some cathartic release in performing them to an audience of a few behind a mixing board.

A handful of these songs did emerge down the line. Blues-rocker The Old Homestead cropped up on the relatively forgotten Hawks & Doves. The laid-back country vibe of Deep Forbidden Lake earned a spot on the Decade retrospective. Moody acoustic number Bad News Comes To Town got a big-band blues cover during Neil's This Note's For You period. Still, most sat in his archives, untouched, unloved, mostly hidden from the world. It's quite possible these songs cut just a bit too deep into the emotional wounds he was feeling at the time, old scars he really didn't want revisiting, much less making known to a wider audience that was already rather invasive into his erratic activities.

Which makes Neil's decision to join with Crosby, Stills & Nash again for a massive American tour all the more strange. Maybe he thought 'getting back with the boys' was what he needed to knock him out of his funk, but while he was gung-ho about it during rehearsals, he turned right back into 'The Loner' while they went out on the road. Which may have been just as well, since by all accounts, 'the Doom Tour' (as Crosby put it) was a debauchery mess, if not financially successful – performing in stadiums would do that. A couple recordings from that tour appear on this disc, but it's clear Neil doesn't want it to be a focus of this collection.

By the end of The Old Homestead, the vibe does seem to be turning around a little, some regained confidence and peppier mood permeating the final clutch of songs. Neil wasn't quite done with the tunes of relationship woes, however, piecing together what would become one of his long-lost albums...

Neil Young - Archives, Vol. 2: Disc 1 - Everybody's Alone (1972-1973)

Reprise Records: 2020

Aw shit, here we go again...

Like, you knew this was inevitable. It was only a matter of time before Neil Young put out another Archives collection. It's why, despite the various, unearthed items that had recently come out from this period of his career, I let them pass by, fully expecting them to appear within this box-set. And for sure I'm gonna' review Every. Single. CD. that's included here, mwa-ha-hah! Okay, I'll probably skip on discs that are heavy on material from the albums I've already reviewed (Tonight's The Night, On The Beach, Zuma), because who needs redundant reviews like that? There's already ten discs on Archives Vol. 2 - gotta' cut corners wherever I can.

That all sorted? Good. Now, where were we? Ah yes, Mr. Young had just released Harvest, achieving a fame and fortune few could have dreamed of ten years deep into a music career, much less ol' Neil. In fact, he was so flustered with all the success that he kept trying to run away from it, which seemed to have the opposite effect. Part of a break-out rock band? Break away and do folksy solo stuff for a while. Get popular enough to join a super-group and play to crowds of thousands? Buy a ranch to get away from it all. Feel so inspired by your surroundings that you write some of your most heart-felt tunes yet, leading to chart topping albums and tours in sold-out arenas? Well, now things are just getting ridiculous. What must one do to get away from all this success? Drown yourself in a ditch?

That's jumping ahead a little though. Archives, Vol. 2 instead kicks things off in the immediate aftermath of Harvest. Titled Everybody's Alone (1972-1973), it's a sort of mish-mash of demo recordings and previously unreleased material of Neil trying out new and old songs with The Stray Gators, his backing band of Nashville session musicians (save an original recording of future tune Human Highway with Crosby, Stills, & Nash). Some of these would end up on the album Time Fades Away, including previously unreleased versions of The Bridge, L.A., and Time Fades Away (a right hootenanny of a tune!). In fact, I think the only tune that appears as on this disc that also does on that album is Yonder Stands The Sinner.

And you may wonder, why not just include the actual Time Fades Away songs, remastered, like as done on the previous Archives collection? To which I respond, “Have you actually heard the quality of those recordings?” They're not good, infamously recorded as performed live, with little in the way of proper studio tapes or mixing console used in the process. It remains one of the only Neil Young albums to never see an official CD re-issue, Neil either unable or unwilling to polish it for modern ears. It has finally found its way onto streaming services if you're insatiably curious, but you're probably better off with the versions as heard here.

Sync24 - Acidious

Leftfield Records: 2020

Speaking of side-projects that had been sitting fallow for half a decade, here's Sync24 again. You may recall him being one-half of Carbon Based Lifeforms. I certainly didn't, back when I first reviewed his second album Comfortable Void on this here bloggy-blog of mine so many years ago. Or I did, but simply neglected mentioning it because I didn't think it important to bring up at the time. It's not like Daniel's solo alias was lighting the world afire then, and when CBL transitioned to Blood Music (BLOOD Music!!), he didn't take it there with him.

Still, I've noticed a trend with all these Sync24 albums, in that they seem to appear a year or two after a major CBL release. Ah, that makes them b-sides then? Perhaps, though that may just be coincidental too. I think Mr. Segerstad is simply the sort that has many ideas floating about, some of which needs an additional outlet to satisfy.

Predictably then, a Sync24 album came out shortly after CBL's Derelicts, Omnious. That's not what I'm reviewing though, and not because of my alphabetical stipulation either – I just haven't gotten it yet. Nay, I'm instead scoping out this more recent outlier to the Sync24 canon, Acidious. Not only is it the first album under this alias to not be released so close to a CBL record (does Stochastic really count?), but this is a strict exercise in acid techno to boot.

Yeah, the title's a dead giveaway, if not the smiley face painted upon the tree those druid bunnies are huddle about. But the TB-303 runs deep in Daniel's blood, such music among the very earliest he ever made before CBL came to dominate much of his career. The squiggly, bubbly sound has long been a staple in the tunes he's crafted with Mr. Hedberg, but a return to those decades old roots certainly isn't out of the norm.

The appropriately titled Feet In The Water kicks things off in somewhat familiar territory, the acid but a simmer as a simple, gentle prog-psy tune plays along. It's not long before the 303 gets its squelch on, and by Nightfall Bounce hits, we're firmly in Hardfloor territory. Seriously, Acid For Blood does the vintage '90s peak-time acid anthemage as fine as any track from the days of yore. And it's not just acid techno that gets its nod, but trance as well. Real trance! Old school trance! Real old school acid trance, as though time-travelled from the early days of Platipus Records. Sa-weet!

Despite Acidious triggering all my nostalgia endorphins, the whole experience runs rather slight. Many tracks will build to a solid acid peak, but instead of thrusting forward into an even bigger high, it will simply end. Plus, we only get eight tracks, which feels skint with tracks so structurally short. Unfortunately, this makes the album more of a fun diversion than something commanding repeated playthroughs. But hey, no one ever went wrong adding a little more acid into their diet.

Beat Pharmacy - Safety In Dub

Silent Season: 2020

Ah, a simple digital EP from Silent Season. These feel so retro, so quaint from them now. They're almost a relic of a bygone era when the label was just finding its footing, before they made the jump to physical medium. Almost everything they release now gets a CD or vinyl option, but as this item came out shortly after the start of ~THE PANDEMIC~, perhaps Silent Season couldn't get the necessary pressing plant time booked for a record roll-out? Nah, that's just a coincidence, I'm sure.

Still, this isn't the first time Beat Pharmacy has appeared on the label. Under his birth name of Brendon Moeller, he released the Arcadian Rhythms EP back in 2017. That did get a vinyl option, in the thick of Silent Season's SSX series of back and white records. Aww, Beat Pharmacy didn't get the same love? I mean, it is an older alias, the one Brendon primarily used throughout the '00s. The albums he released on Deep Space Media practically kept the François K's sub-label afloat, with plenty of explorations in the various facets of dub as it stood back then. Seriously, a number of tracks off Earthly Delights or Constant Pressure could fit snuggly in a Swayzak set. Dammit, that's two more album's triggering my collector's itch now.

Deep Space Media folded before the 00's came to a close, but by then Mr. Moeller was moving onto dub techno as Echologist as well as his own name. Still, he brought out Beat Pharmacy for occasional singles on labels like Echocord Colour, ZamZam Sounds, Solardisco, and Throne Of Blood (blood throne!?!), each just as wayward in dabbling in dub as his earlier albums were. One could go as dub techno as Echologist, another as peppy as Hed Kandi house. So we could expect almost anything out of Beat Pharmacy's Silent Season debut, though it's pretty safe hazarding a guess it'll lean more towards the techno side of things than anything purely roots.

Not so much opener Carried Along, one of those ultra-deep, smooth ridin' downtempo dub outings, with little more than whispy synth-pads gently moving through the beats like a breeze through the trees. Generating Love feels more conventional where chilled out dub techno is concerned, more of an abstract exploration of echo and reverb with nothing but a bassline as a rudder. By contrast, the titular Safety In Dub almost comes off like a throwback to some of Beat Pharmacy's jazzier material from ye' olden days, more going on in the percussion even if the dubbed-out synths remain fixated on stretching their tones as far as musically possible. Closing out with the minimalist techno pulse of Tape Syndicate is fine, but there aren't enough things done with reverb washes to sustain eight minutes of interest.

Overall, Safety In Dub is an okay EP, but I still find myself more drawn to older Beat Pharmacy material. At least this one gave me an excuse to scope some of it out.

Norken & Nyquist - Synchronized Minds

Intellitronic Bubble: 2020

Aha! There was another Lee Norris alias I had yet to cover. (no, Man-Q-Neon doesn't count; nor Nei Lorken) Norken's been around almost as long as Metamatics, emerging about the same time as Nacht Plank. I don't think this one gained quite the cult following as his others though, in that Lee never released Norken records on his own labels. Which makes sense, the Norken material not fitting so tidily on Neo Ouija or ...txt, as this is Mr. Norris' serious techno muzik alias. Okay, not that serious, but from what I sampled of his earlier albums, there's heavier emphasis on deeper, almost minimalist tech-house rhythms. That just wouldn't do for those labels plying more of a continuum of ambient techno IDM, nosiree.

Despite having mostly mothballed the project since the mid-'00s, Lee kept Norken around for sporadic items, eventually dusting it off with more regularity half a decade ago. Somewhere along the way, he became buds with Futuregrapher, and started releasing a whole bunch on his Móatún 7 print. And then, still feeling that proper techno twinge, he teamed up with Futuregrapher to start up another label together, Intellitronic Bubble. Gads, how many labels does Lee have running right now? Seven?

Okay, that's Norken sorted, so how about _Nyquist? Not nearly as much history, and much of it is in conjunction with Lee on Móatún 7. When Intellitronic Bubble started expanding into artist albums, it was decided their combined powers were a perfect kick-off for the throwback techno print. Doesn't hurt when you're part label-runner too. Of course, I knew very little of this, just that there was an interesting new label that Lee Norris was part of, and here's a cool piece of cover art featuring Arctic wastelands. Ooh, might it be experimental tundra drone?

Nah, it's techno, ol' school and stripped down with machine-jackin' rhythms, floaty synth leads, and deeper than thou basslines. Like, holy cow, are these basslines ever low on the low end! Some of these frequencies are in the technobass domain, though the surrounding production keeps things in the realms of crisp 'n' clean techno. If that crisp 'n' clean techno carried with it those heart-melting melodies Mr. Norris' body of work is known for. Sometimes a little acid action is thrown in (Aux Patch, Auxxx Thatched), other tracks opt for a vibe in other genres' realm (tech-house in Mutual 2, electro in Track 11, Detroit funk in The Far Center, ambient techno in Love Simulation), but the general sonic aesthetic of each track remains mostly consisted throughout Synchronized Minds.

And I can't deny, that does lead this album to sounding a little samey when I play it back. Nothing ever slips in quality, but little leaps out as the highlight track, or the intriguing leftfield cut, or the instant earworm. Which is fine, Synchronized Minds clearly not that kind of album. Does feel like this could have been broken up into separate EPs though, giving each track more space to stand out.

Vector Lovers - Separation

self-release: 2020

Doing a video game score seemed inevitable. Lot's of electronic music producers do it, those with sonic similarities to sci-fi, anime, and all that good geeky stuff perfect adepts. So when I heard Vector Lovers had made a soundtrack for a game, it didn't surprise me that much. What did surprise me was the game in question, called Separation, was developed for the Playstation VR system. I've heard of the gear, but hardly seen much buzz around it. Or maybe there's plenty of buzz, but since it's a device I'll never use, it all passes me by.

In any case, I followed the handy link to the game's promotional website, for that all-important context on the subject matter, and it looks interesting enough. Mostly a walking simulator with a desolate world to explore while solving the mysteries of what went so horribly wrong for this civilization to have come to ruin. Gosh, getting some real Atrium Carceri / Sabled Sun vibes here.

I was curious how Vector Lovers came into contact with this project, so poked about the Recluse Industries page some more. Ah, here's an 'About' page, going into the developer's past game-making experiences, mostly done during earlier generations. He took a break from it for a while, then returned to the fold when the death of his father inspired him to make Separation himself. Signed ...Martin Wheeler? Wait, Vector Lovers not only did the soundtrack, but the whole game? Holy cow, I had no idea Martin was an indie game developer too! Seems like information that should be included on his Discogs page. That also explains the long stretch of minimal musical output following iPhonica. He was busy making a VR game in all that time!

Befitting a VR game that's more about immersion and exploration, the music for Separation is mostly on that moody ambient tip. It even occasionally dips its toes into atmospheric synthwave territory (Epic Fail, Outpost), which totally tracks for Vector Lovers. In fact, I'm surprised I didn't hear more of it, as this seems like a prime environment for some vintage retro-future synth pulses.

But nay, Separation's primary sonic domain are subtle droning pads that ebb and swell, likely emerging as you come across some new landscape or ruin in your sojourn through the game's world. Some of it is ominous and mysterious (Ocean Of Nothing, Requiem), others tranquil and relaxing (Into The Air, Unlearn, the titular cut), while a couple could have been the mellower moments in a Vector Lovers album (Foregone, Requiem again). Such distinct markers of Mr. Wheeler's music seem few and far though, Separation a much different outing than the usual Vector Lovers fare. It's fine on its own, but undoubtedly would be enhanced with associated stimuli from the gaming experience.

And the game itself? Oh, I've obviously never played it, but did check out a few reviews. I've seen opinions range from "immersive masterpiece" to "tedious... treasure hunt". Always positive things to say about the music though.

The Higher Intelligence Agency - Preform

self-release: 2020

Bobby Bird's been a bit of a busy-body on Bandcamp this (b)last half-decade, slowly releasing his back-catalogue with upgraded fidelity. This has seen the availability of long out-of-print and rare items again, including his collaborations with Pete Namlook and Biosphere. There were a few, scattered HIA items from the project's earliest days that had yet to be re-issued though. I've covered some of these as they appeared on compilations, but others were exclusive to tapes of the original Oscillate shows. Basically a lot of very hard-to-get stuff for completists, unless one was willing to scour Discogs for them. I mean, it's not like these assorted early tracks were available on a tidy collection.

So Bobby gathered all these stray tunes into a tidy collection called Preform. Aw, now isn't that nice of him.

Three of the eight tracks included here, I already have: W.H.Y. (from Ambient Dub Vol. 2), Harmony Angel (from One A.D.), and Alphanex, which was the name of the short-lived pairing of Bird and Brian Duffy, for the one-off track Planet Hoskins on Ambient Dub, Vol. 1. Not sure why this change was made for this compilation, but whatever, it's great to have that in such spiffy remastered form. Seriously, d'at bass! HIA got its rep from being purveyors of bleepy dub, but back in the day, they squeezed some serious juice out of those low ends. Having a higher fidelity version of Why ain't such a bad thing either. Harmony Angel is fine, but was never one of my 'must hear' tracks on One A.D.

Two other 'compilation exclusive' tracks are on Preform, one of which any follower of the Artificial Intelligence series should know, Selenite. I... kinda' feel like I've heard variations on this track before. Then again, many of WHY's elements were re-purposed into the Colourform track Re-Echo, not to mention bits of Harmony Angel could be heard in Speedlearn. Hence this collection of tracks being called Preform, I guess.

Anyhow, the other compilation track is Genius Island, which appeared on one of those gargantuan charity-driven collections on Touched Music, a quite lovely, spaced-out slice of ambient techno dub (Spectral's chimes help). There's actually an earlier version that appeared on the tape Totally Ambient Groove Volume 2 – Live From Oscillate, but I assume this version was plucked instead since it already had a re-jiggering for a 2014 release.

Speaking of those tapes, the remaining three tracks on Preform all come those sessions, and yeah, these definitely sound like tunes intended for a live audience. Sub Oscillate 2 is little more than an acid techno workout with dub flourishes. Meanwhile, Alien Mind feeds of that ol' school HIA vibe of dancefloor efficiency while working all the pulpy, bleepy sci-fi sounds and samples you can indulge. Juju Love is sillier, though that twisting bleep noise sure harkens to the sort of leads weeaboo trap loves. Interesting curiosos for the HIA completist, but well removed from the minimalist electro-dub that'd mark Bird's later work.

Cell - Live In Corfu

Ultimae Records: 2020

The past. Wasn't it better? Remember when door cover was a ten-spot, the Federal NDP had a fighting chance, and the charts was filled with great music (okay, maybe not that one). Remember when Ultimae Records released albums filled with melodies? I do – I have many of their first-run CDs. Nowadays, Aes Dana has turned his label into something of an exercise in sound design, releases sounding big and vast, a sometimes polite way of saying 'empty and flavorless'. By the time of the double-LP compilation Polarity, their journey to the dub techno side was complete, folks wondering if anything resembling a tune the milkman could whistle would ever return.*

Fortunately, there's been a few hinting signs of a return to the wide-screen, cinematic music of years past. Not a massive step, mind you, as the heavy-duty melody makers of Ultimae's formative years have mostly all moved onto other labels and ventures, but it's something to latch onto. Still, what we need for a real buzz-worthy talking point is someone from that O.G. Fahrenheit Project rosters coming back. Even a James Murray or a Circular would be nice. Wait, Cell is the one that's come out of hiatus? He'll do.

Not to downplay Alexandre Scheffer making a reappearance, it's just I thought him essentially retired. His last LP under the Cell guise was the 2009 Ultimae album Hanging Masses, while providing barely a peep of anything else since the 2012 Ultimae album 9980 with Hybrid Leisureland. A lo-o-ong gap in significant music making, is what I'm saying, enough to declare a project presumptively dead, which would have been a shame. His track record from those peak mid-'00s days was a well-spring of potential, one that felt criminally cut short for whatever reason. Thankfully no more, returning with another live album of fresh material, plus inclusions of assorted compilation-only items. Ooh, I see Take Off in this tracklist, the tune Nick Warren used in his mini-Ultimae showcase for The Masters Series. (yes, really)

Still, it's recommended going into Live In Corfu with tempered expectations. Even at his most upbeat and melodic, the Cell project was rather subdued compared to his Ultimae contemporaries. There's even a touch of the ol' minimalist dub techno glitch in Security, though as that track appeared on the second Greenosophy compilation, within the height of Ultimae's fascination of navel-lint sounds, it's not surprising to hear such a thing crop up.

So Live In Corfu isn't quite so pumpin' as Live At Kumharas, but still mostly works a steady, proggy rhythm throughout (save a track or two of blissy downtempo), with plenty of gradual building melodies throughout. Some, like Spinning Whale and Intimate Removals even hit upon those subtle highs of glory days of Ultimae's past. I seriously could imagine the latter as a perfect capper on one of the Fahrenheit Projects. It's that damn good! Not to mention yet another promising step in the label's hoped return to prominence.

Coma Eye - Insufflated Brine Shrimp

self-released: 2020

(a Patreon Request)

I'm surprised this doesn't happened more often. These Patreon Requests have mostly been as I expected, if not so dominated by a select few. Getting my thoughts on items I've overlooked in the past, or throwing some shine on genres outside my usual wheel-house (so much Japanese music... just so much), that's usually how it goes. Somehow I haven't received requests for anything intended for a roast, as can happen, but I guess I haven't gained a reputation as that sort of review blogger. Come to think of it, I don't think I've gained any sort of reputation. Which is ...good? Like, I have a real life and a real job, and becoming Internet Famous could severely impact that. Yes, even Good Internet Famous (is there a Good Internet Famous?).

Thus getting requests as a means of promotional hype has been exceedingly rare on the Patreon front. I can't imagine my word carries very far or has any influence – I do this as a lark, not as a profession. Folks would have more success sharing things on streaming services than the slim hopes someone may stumble upon this blog and wade through over two-thousand posts to see their stuff given some shine. Then there's the whole 'ethics' of it all, getting paid to potentially hype something up. Never mind I'm quite honest in my feelings over whatever I listen to, there's just this whole assumption, see. Then again, I've actually reviewed promo stuff from my local talent, so where do I get off on this holier-than-Pitckfork shtick?

Speaking of 'local talent', listening to this debut EP from Coma Eye reminds me of the sort of live PA acts I often hear at Vancouver's bi-annual Sequential Circus showcase. Apparently Coma Eye is part of one such scene, hailing from New Orleans but somewhat involved with Erie's electronic music scene. As in, 'Lake Erie' Erie? Wouldn't make sense to have an Erie in Louisiana, now would it? That'd be like having a town called Tsimshian on the Hudson Bay (very local joke).

Won't deny I didn't have high hopes for this after the first couple tracks. IDM can go oh-so very wrong and off the rails without a steady hand, producers too often thinking MOAR stuttery-glitch means MOAR awesome. Coupled with ultra-twee perversions of electro-pop sampling, and the palming of my face is complete whenever I hear that kind of stuff. Coma Eye doesn't go quite that far, but does take a longing glance at the edge of that cliff.

Or maybe my ears just prefer when she takes things down the breakneck acid techno road with HORSE. Or the creepy sludge-glitch of Conquered In The Concord Gel. Or the trippiest-hop of Do You Love Your Granny?. That's the darned thing about these IDM wonks: when no sounds or styles are off limits, they're bound to stumble upon something that connects with the cochlea. Some have better batting averages than other, but even a .500 on a six-track EP ain't too shabby.