Teeth Mountain Welcome You to Their Comfort Dome

Baltimore’s Teeth Mountain are a “free collaboration” of members that perform live in a space called the Comfort Dome, employing bowed saws, electronic loops, droning cellos, multiple floor toms, and a communal symbol to craft their sounds. You may expect a sprawling hodgepodge of free sounds complete with weird freakouts, chiming bells, and the smell of burning incense from that description. However, that’s not the case with Teeth Mountain. What the eight-piece outfit does, and they do it incredibly well, is create a controlled mayhem of weighty neo-tribal trance music, packed with organic organ tones, distorted cello drones, and a skilled singing saw. Part Indian, part African, part Balkan, and part Baltimore, Teeth Mountain will enthrall you in a rhythmic musical spell.

The band is prepping a three-way release on Discos Compulsivos/Luv Luv (50 CDR’s) in Spain, Illinois’ Nail in the Coffin Records (100 CD’s), and Virginia’s Shdwply Records (500 LP’s). Teeth Mountain play Brooklyn on May 30th at Death By Audio Silent Barn and June 6th at Glasslands, followed by a June 8th date in Philly at Big Rock Candy Mountain. Full tour dates on MySpace.

[MP3]: Teeth Mountain  ”Keinsein”
[MP3]: Teeth Mountain  ”Black Jerusalem”

CDR; 2008

The Dodos | Mercury Lounge | 04.06.08

Photo credit: Ear Farm

I was one of the lucky few to see the sold out Dodos show at Mercury Lounge last night. I’ve been working like a dog so I didn’t catch the opening acts. The San Francisco duo of Meric Long and Logan Kroeber were joined by a third percussion/vibes/organist for this show. Coming off their recent and highly regarded album, Visiter, The Dodos presented their acoustic freak folk to an energetic, collegiate crowd.

Lead vocalist and guitarist Long, plays at breakneck speeds, strumming vigorously while switching between two mics for lead and harmony vocals. His fingerpicking and blues riffs were beautifully executed on his quiver of big-body vintage guitars (using acrylic, flamenco-style nails!). It’s no wonder why he sits down for the entire show. The Dodos layered, rich sound comes from not only Long’s impressive guitar playing and Kroeber’s steady tribal drumming, but the use of loops during their performance.

I dare not call them a jam band, but at the and of their set, going from Jody to The Season, I looked around to see the crowd in a trance, bobbing and weaving together in a cult-like state.

More pics over at Ear Farm’s flickr site.

Download “Ashley” [Frenchkiss Records]

The Dodos live performance videos on NPR

Boredoms | Starlight Ballroom 4.2.08

An explosive, chaotic, hypnotic, and relentless rhythm rave is what Japanoise band Boredoms brought to Starlight Ballroom last night in Philadelphia. Their nearly ninety-minute set ranged from minimal beats and ambient washes to a full on aural assault of thundering tribal percussion and crushing primal noise.

Frontman Yamatsuka Eye opened the set on a pitch black stage swinging around a pair of trippy MIDI controlled light orbs that produced growling electronic feedback every time they were shaken. The noise produced by the glowing orbs steadily matured into a consistent thump, gaining intensity that culminated when the lighting was switched on and the triple drum attack of Muneomi Senju, Yojiro, Yoshimi P-We was unleashed. Eye threw the orbs to the floor and tore into the “Sevena,” a seven necked guitar that he played percussively with an array of baton like drumsticks. A dizzying stampede of flowing rhythms and sonic layers blasted from the stage setting the tone for the rest of the show.

Perhaps most impressively, the trio of drummers performed non-stop, like clockwork at times rising off their seats to pound on their snares, toms, and cymbals. Equally amazing is that they had unbelievable endurance, finishing the set and encore stronger than when they began. Eye was like a torrent on the stage and had a seemingly relentless amount of energy. He rotated between wailing on the Sevena with various sized “drumsticks,” producing melodic drones and creating blankets of noise on a joystick controlled synth. Between his duties on the synth and Sevena, he would let out indecipherable shrieks and exclamations like “Ha. Ha. Bia! Bia! Boog boog boog. Bia! Eeeeeet!” If I weren’t witnessing it first hand I would have assumed there was a pterodactyl on stage when Eye hit his “Eeeeet!” notes. Much to the dismay of the roadie/soundguy who tuned the seven-neck guitar throughout the set, Eye managed to break many of the strings on the upper necks during the final song.

Toward the end of the set, my ears were absolutely pummeled and I made my way toward the back of the crowd where I learned that Eye had a broken foot and was wearing an air cast the entire show. I went into the show being a more casual Boredoms listener, not super familiar with the band’s catalog, but I can see myself delving deeper into their records following last night’s torrent of a live show.

Live, Boredoms sound is nothing short of IMMENSE. I left the former roller skating rink, turned club, halfway through the encore, ears ringing as the band, never tiring, sent blasts of noise pouring into the gritty desolate streets around me.

Boredoms finish up their U.S. tour tonight at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC.

NOTE: The picture accompanying this post is from Trent Wolbe, the band had asked not to be photographed during their show last night.

[MP3]: Boredoms  ”B For Boredoms”
Chocolate Synthesizer, WEA/Reprise/Very Friendly; 1994

The Ruby Suns | The Barbary 3.20.08

I found myself standing in a loosely crowded room at The Barbary last night to see The Ruby Suns who are currently touring the States with Le Loup. It was another one of those all-ages shows that make me feel like an old man. This time, instead of being in a church basement surrounded by youth, I was in a familiar club, a place that is usually dancey, drunk, and loud. And to add to that, people are usually pissed off their asses (at least I am) at The Barbary, dancing and partying into the wee hours of the morning.

Last night, er, yesterday evening was a bit different. Instead of being surrounded by late night partygoers, I was surrounded by a crowd consisting of high school kids, the typical show crowd, and actual children as the evening sun poured through a glass door into the dimly lit venue. It kind of felt like I was at SXSW, CMJ or something like that, which was pretty rad, even though I’m used to being in the club at midnight instead of dinner time. It’s great that Philly has these all-ages shows, they’re something unique that I never experienced in New York, or anywhere else for that matter, with the only drawback being the lack of booze. My heart sank when upon entering The Barbary only to see the taps covered with a fire hood leaving me to decide between vitamin water and chocolate milk (kidding about the choco milk, of course, but it would have been nice!). The show ended while the night was still young and I could have easily caught another show, actually an entire bill, or stuck around The Barbary for a DJ night. These “after-work” shows are something I can get used to and certainly a unique and welcomed addition Philly’s already busy music scene.

The Ruby Suns ended their set by the time it was dark outside and frontman Ryan McPhun made a quip about how the night was still young. It was good to see him in such good spirits after a set that was plagued with technical difficulties. Getting the band set up and sound checked took a good while and throughout the show there were issues with the backing track volume, mic stands tipping over, and every time McPhun got near his mic, he received a zap on the lips. Despite issues with the sound, the trio soldiered through about half of Sea Lion, treating the crowd with their sun-struck psychedelic goodness. Since the Suns were performing as a three-piece, they used a backing track for some of the instrumentals and vocal harmonies, while all three juggled various instruments and traded off vocals. McPhun exchanged guitar for percussion and back again, while Amee Robinson swapped between guitar, bass, and keyboards, and Imogen Taylor was in charge keyboards, and the flute. Each bandmember’s ability to switch between instruments mid-song and not lose a beat was the most impressive part of their set.

The three-piece ended the show with a solid rendition of “Tane Mahuta,” serving up the best of the night and going out on a good note. The sizable crowd responded accordingly, giving the group a substantial cheer despite the sound problems. It would be great to see the band fully perform Sea Lion live, but with all the record’s intricacies it would make touring trickier and much more expensive. If Sea Lion serves as any evidence, I’m expecting the band to mature their live show and eventually flesh it out to include supporting members and instrumentation.

The Ruby Suns play The Mercury Lounge on March 23rd with Le Loup and FRICTION alums The Silent League.

[MP3]: The Ruby Suns  ”Kenya Dig It?”
Sea Lion, Sub Pop; 2008

The Ruby Suns | Sea Lion

I’ve been spinning Monitor’s LP The Voices And Drums Of Africa a lot recently. It’s a record I picked up at Philly’s Beautiful World Syndicate and features 18-tracks that focus on various African artists like Mouangue and his African Ensemble doing music of Cameroon; Kante Facelli and his African Ensemble doing music of Dahomey, Niger and Guinea; and Keita Fodeba and his African Ensemble doing music of Guinea and Casamance.

I mention the record because it served as a nice transition into The Ruby Suns Sea Lion. Don’t get me wrong, The Ruby Suns do incorporate African elements into their music, but their sound is far from “world music.” Surprisingly enough, I read that initially Sea Lion was intended to be a world music album, but elements of floating 60s pop psychedelia, orchestral compositions, noise, and reverb made their way in, resulting in an epic and exotic album. As originally planned, the album does encompass sounds focused in on all the world’s continents. Main “Ruby Sun” Ryan McPhun traveled the world with his Dictaphone, recording sounds and rhythms from the wilderness of Africa, the monasteries of Thailand, and the landscapes that surrounded him each day.

The inspiration behind the concept album is heard on tracks like “Tane Mahuta,” which is sung completely in New Zealand’s indigenous Māori – an ode to the ancient trees of a forest near the band’s town of Auckland, New Zealand. “Kenya Dig It?” was inspired by traditional Kenyan music, while “Ole Rinka” was written about a man McPhun met in the Maasai Mara National Reserve. A track on the band’s eponymous debut full-length (Lil Chief/Memphis Industries; 2005) also pays homage to Maasai Mara. The echoey, upbeat Panda Bear-esque “Adventure Tour” revisits a drive through New Zealand’s South Island.

The depth and sheer latitude of the The Ruby Suns songs is striking – cheery vocals over layers of complex instrumentation that consists of djembe drums, ukuleles, pots and pans, horns, and hazy distortion. The album is highly recommended.

Sea Lion (buy) is out now on Lil Chief and sees its U.S. release on March 4th via Sub Pop. The Ruby Suns play Philadelphia on 3/20 at The Barbary and The Mercury Lounge in New York on 3/23 after a stop at the Black Cat in DC on 3/21. All dates supporting Le Loup. The New Zealand trio will also be making a stop at SXSW.

[MP3]: The Ruby Suns  ”Tane Mahuta”
Sea Lion, Lil Chief/Sub Pop; 2008

Rings | Black Habit

Like many of releases from Paw Tracks, it took me a fair amount of listens to fully warm up to Rings debut long-player, Black Habit. Take last year’s Person Pitch for example, I listened to the record when it was first released in the summer, but it took repeated spins and many months of going back to the record before it finally clicked for me in late November (subsequently after hearing the Turbostation remix of “Comfy In Nautica”).

Over the last few years I’ve realized that I need to be in the right mood for certain types and genres (ie. experimental otherworldliness) of music for songs and records to “click.” After the first round of listening (and not initially liking), I’ll usually go away from said record and come back to it at a later date. A friend of mine uses the “three listen” philosophy and if after the third spin he doesn’t like it, he’ll move onto another record. I tried this method in the past and it didn’t really pan out too well, I was overlooking too many good albums.

“Rings” is a fitting name for the Brooklyn-based trio (formerly known as “First Nation”) of Nina Mehta, Abby Portner and Kate Rosko, as Black Habit is a collection of loose tribal-inspired circular compositions. In their bio, the band also attributes their more fitting moniker to the bonds between them, decision-making processes, and their feminine beliefs, which are described as “interlocking, connected, whole, and continuous.” It’s also fitting that a large print of a dolphin graces the background of the band’s MySpace page – throughout Black Habit female reverb-heavy vocals echo each other in a similar fashion to dolphins echolocation (“Scape Aside”), while intricate arrangements of piano, flutes, and guitars fall to the background letting their gorgeous vocals to come front and center. “Double Thanks” takes inspiration from the Raincoats with its chanting chorous (“…Shy shy shy shy child…”) while the spooky “Is He Handsome” abounds with samples of a woman wheezing set against the bark of a dog and weird oscillations with interplaying female vocal harmonies dominating the stage.

The strenth of Black Habit lies in the trio’s ability to let their vocal harmonies play off each other and not allowing them get subdued in the instrumental haze and falling to the background. Rings plays Glasslands this Saturday (January 20th) before heading on a tour supporting FRICTION alum White Williams, which includes a stop at SXSW. Black Habit is out now on Paw Tracks, Other Music has the digital download and Insound has the CD version.

[MP3]: Rings  ”Is He Handsome”
Black Habit, Paw Tracks; 2008