Antony and the Johnsons: The Crying Light (2009) 02/20/2009
Posted by scrambledface in Pop/Rock.Tags: Avant-Garde, Orchestral, Pop
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Although I’m here to heap further praise at the feet of Antony Hegarty, he doesn’t need my help, having already gained support from the cognoscenti at the intersection of avant-garde and popular music (David Tibet, Björk, Lou Reed, etc.). For the most part, his music would be filed under the “easy listening” category, populated by gentle piano and light symphonics. Yet Hegarty’s spooky, wavering voice elevates him over your standard sensitive minstrel, along with the haunted demeanor of his songs, which often blur gender lines and speak of loss and longing in doomed romantic tones. His latest album with his band the Johnsons is not really a rocked-up departure, despite the soothing pulse of percussion on tracks like “Kiss My Name” and “Aeon.” It is, however, a less ponderous set than he’s offered in the past, with Hegarty’s lush, fluttering vocal melodies taking the fore in standouts like “Epilepsy is Dancing,” “One Dove,” “Daylight and the Sun” and “Another World,” the latter previously heard on the 2008 EP of the same name. For fey art songs, the material offered on The Crying Light is surprisingly engaging and rich with personality. Its stark, surreal beauty echoes its strikingly bizarre cover image, which depicts Japanese butoh legend Kazuo Ohno (the album is dedicated to him).
“Aeon” (“Late Show with David Letterman,” 2/19/09)
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Mr. Bungle: Disco Volante (1995) 02/18/2009
Posted by scrambledface in Experimental.Tags: Avant-Garde, Eclectic, Metal, Pop/Rock
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We begin this endeavor with a genuine classic. Mr. Bungle’s second album was perhaps the strangest recording released by a major label during the 1990s. Open-minded listeners got a treat, while anyone hoping for another funk/ska/jazz/metal/carnival music lark in the vein of the group’s self-titled 1991 debut received a serious mindfuck. Disco Volante incorporated flavors of sludge, techno, cartoon and soap opera soundtracks, surf rock, sunshine pop and death metal into the band’s already formidable arsenal. Having already showcased their warped sense of humor, this is the record that established both vocalist Mike Patton and guitarist Trey Spruance as eclectic geniuses. It’s also the record that launched hundreds of lesser bands aching to replicate Mr. Bungle’s uneasy style of genre fusion, but without the vision or talent to carry through. Their third and (to date) final album, 1999’s California, is comparably normal; though it is sonically ambitious and intricate, it’s far more linear and accessible. On indefinite “hiatus” since Y2K, Mr. Bungle is one of the defunct bands I miss most. In retrospect, it’s probably for the best that they didn’t try to milk it into something forced or, worse, weird for weird’s sake.
“Desert Search for Techno Allah” (live in San Francisco, 12/18/95)
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