Like one of Akira Kurosawa's acclaimed Samurai epics cross-pollinated with the type of bludgeoning metal championed by Slayer, Freedom Bondage charges stoically, stolidly, furiously, but in firm control, bolstered by the tremendous engineering work of Steve Albini. Guitarist KK Null -- known also for his experimental, sometimes ambient, sometimes painful-beyond-listenability soundscapes -- plays with a decided flair for both overdriven death metal and more painful, art rock-inspired single note runs, quite similar to Today Is the Day's Steve Austin. However, Null's most impressive and overwhelming trait is his vocals: He sings the way Toshiro Mifune screams and grunts in Kurosawa's films. It's quite daunting and powerful to listen to. In fact, Freedom Bondage is Zeni Geva's most potent and consistent work, a surgically precise blend of Japanese avant-noisescapes, death metal, art rock, and industrial sensibilities, all harnessed brilliantly, with tremendous attention -- as usual -- to drum tone and breadth, by Albini.

I'm down with this thread. Here's one everyone should hear.


Zeni Geva - Freedom Bondage

Takemura's Scope is a beautiful record. When first popping this into a CD player, one may be a bit taken aback -- it was nothing you will, or could, predict. No heavy beats, no discernable instrument sounds only kind of a synthesized clicking. It is a much different clicking than something like Oval, as there is no staid rhythm and slow modulation. A little more than halfway through the album comes the song "Icefall." This is when it can be realized that Nobukazu Takemura is a genius. There are chord changes and modulations in the clicks, now sounding much like an intentionally skipping CD, but they are all crushed together, sounding more like an orchestra of little clicks. The clicks keep clicking and smash one on top of the other again and again -- it is a symphony of clicks. So clever, so painstaking this task must have been that it blows one away. After hearing "Icefall," subsequent listens of the album sound completely different, as if this song allows the listener to understand the music much more. Takemura's music invites a kind of Platonic dialogue -- once you've looked at his music from every possible angle and think you understand it, a single event changes your perception of it entirely. This music is miles ahead of the bleeps and loops of most electronic music being made today.

Acid Mothers Temple--Mantra of Love


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two tracks of crazy primitive psych rock.

MONO "ONE STEP MORE AND YOU DIE"

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Acid Mothers Temple--Mantra of Love


hxxp://s55.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2YRAEYBQ7CJJC1K9UA8JJZQZPE

two tracks of crazy primitive psych rock.

boredoms - I skipped seeing them years ago and still regret it to this day. 'Super AE' is a masterpiece.

from Allmusic.com
Surfacing again with an American release after a couple years of absence, the Boredoms showed themselves to still be truly a unique proposition with Super Ae. Taking some more of the prog/Kraut influences that crept into earlier efforts while still firing up the amps all around, Eye and his cohorts (forming a core quintet this time around) once again become the most out-there band in the world. "Super You" is a simply fantastic way to start, with initial whizzing stereo-to-stereo sounds leading into a wonderful collection of slow, ponderous death rock riffs that sound like all the Black Sabbath and Metallica wannabes of the world gathered to create one massive opening fanfare via guitars. Logically the Boredoms spike the punch by interrupting things with sped-up tape sounds and pitch changes, making the proceedings all the more fun. From there, Super Ae continues along to something close to a concept album; each track feels like a perfect lead in to the rest, while the whole sense is of one long, mantra-like piece, faster or slower as the band feels like it. The big change is that the volume is not so much used to stun as it is to maintain a general atmosphere while the rhythm section cranks along in semi-motorik style, a bit like Can with some even freer spirits at play. Not everything is total destruction in the Boredoms scheme of things, admittedly -- "Super Coming" has some hilarious cartoony vocals from all participants. "Super Are" begins with a serene keyboard performance and chanting background vocals before turning into a psych/acid folk drum/singing jam session á la Amon Düül or fellow countrymen Ghost. Needless to say, though, the amps and monster sludge kick in soon enough, and quite well at that! "Super Good," the album closer, also has a nicely calm way about it.

Takako Minekawa's third full-length U.S. release Fun 9 delivers more of her inventive electronic pop, and includes collaborations with co-producers Cornelius and DJ Me DJ You, the side-project of Sukia's Craig Borrell and Ross Harris. Not surprisingly, this means that while Fun 9 retains Minekawa's playful musical vision -- evident in songs like "Shh Song," "Spin Spider Spin," and "Fancy Work Funk" -- it also presents her ideas in a more eclectic and polished style. From the breathy, overlapping vocals and synth blips of the album opener "Gently Waves," to "Tiger"'s bouncy, lunar funk and "Plash"'s breakbeat bossa nova, Minekawa fashions a wide array of lush, lighthearted songs into an album that is as self-assured as it is fun.

With a slightly reshuffled lineup -- Ogino now clearly became Batoh's chief collaborator, while new percussionist Setsuko Furuya accompanied the returning Kurihara, cellist Hiromichi Sakamoto and two brass players -- Ghost on Snuffbox created another striking, beautiful album. With its senses of fusions now firmly grasped, able to slide from trumpet and flute-accompanied folk on the opening "Regenesis" to the initially acoustic then ragingly electric "Sad Shakers," Ghost achieved levels of inspiration that easily equaled many of Batoh's original role models. One of those early sources gets saluted in a sharp way -- the Rolling Stones' "Live With Me" gets a piano/vibe-heavy remake here, with Furuya getting to showcase his abilities in particular. Another neo-psych masterpiece is the title track -- Batoh's truly cool, spaced-out lyric gets backed perfectly by Ogino's harpischord, his own acoustic and crunching electric guitar work, and plenty of production effects and tweaking for effect. The at-times underrated sense of playfulness which crops up in Ghost's work gets some airing here. "Soma" ends by shifting from a gentler flow to a quicker ending led by Batoh's banjo, while "Fukeiga" has similar fun with the vibes and Batoh's electric soloing offset against his clear acoustic work. Still, though, it's the sense of spiritual power and mantra-based music and performance that comes through the strongest on Snuffbox, a mostly calm and understated affair for its length. The fine instrumental "Daggma," with Ogino and Furuya's combination of keyboard and percussion instruments backed by Sakamoto's cello, is at once melancholic and uplifting. Batoh also clearly feels thoroughly comfortable with switching between his native tongue and English, splitting the amount sung in each language down the middle. "Hanmiyau" closes Snuffbox with a flourish, piano, guitar reverb, and more, Batoh's serene lyrics echoing up from the depths.

I hope this doesn't burn out the ghost, but this is a great album.