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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Even the most die-hard Sonic Youth fan must have tip-toed trepidatiously to his or her first listen to the band's major label releases in the 1990s. However, the releases on the band's own SYR label, while concentrating exclusively on the most experimental end of their sonic spectrum, have been consistently fascinating and varied. The first two SYR releases were the work of the core quartet, the third added Jim O'Rourke (as a semi-permanent member) and the fourth, Goodbye 20th Century, expanded the ensemble with seven guests. This disc is the first release on the label that is not by Sonic Youth per se--Kim Gordon has joined forces with DJ Olive and Ikue Mori. Mori has been a fixture of the downtown New York experimental scene for two decades and employs a sampler and a pile of electronic percussion that looks like it was soldered together from a mail-order kit. DJ Olive is one third of WE, who are the best of New York's so-called "illbient" scene. The recontextualization that the new trio allows suits Gordon very well--shorn of any need to "rock", her knotty distorted guitar textures are settled snugly amidst the whirlwind of sound from the other two and her voice bobs around like a raft on the sonic sea. There's very little in the way of conventionally structured songs here, so she can stretch out a bit with some extended vocal techniques. Often ("Neu Adult", "Lemonade"), the lyrics are spread out in a way that doesn't readily invite following them as a narrative. Other songs are a little more straightforward, as when she's hollering "Donald Duck, kill Minnie!" ("We are the Princesses"), or the more Surrealist "Paperbag/Orange Laptop" where the words are easy to understand but intriguingly difficult to make sense of. You might think that between a DJ and a drum machine operator, something resembling a groove would emerge, but Mori never does that and Olive remains equally abstract on this occasion--the two create a complex kaleidoscope of sounds with plenty of percussive chatter but no regular pulse. -Bob Bannister
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Forget everything you knew about music...,
This review is from: SYR 05 (Audio CD)
... and listen to this amazing cd. No convential stuff here just pitter patter of noises aranged to form some sort of a beat. End result - very catchy indeed. Not for the average fan of 'Dirty' or 'Goo'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews) 15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterful piece of experimental noise,
By Matthew F. Watters - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: SYR 05 (Audio CD)
I'm not sure why this record has elicited so much confusion and mixed critical response: fans of Sonic Youth, who are surely aware of Thurston Moore and company's longstanding interest in avant garde jazz and experimental music, shouldn't be all that surprised by this record. That said, a rock record this isn't. However, as the cover art (with its Japanese characters) tends to imply, anyone who might be attracted to Japanese noise artists, as well as to experimental or improvisational music that treads a fascinating line between ambient and industrial (with dream-like vocals from the perpetually cool Kim Gordon) will find much to appreciate in this album's intricate and atmospheric improvisations. Like great free jazz, it isn't necessarily background music, but (unlike some others have commented) I find much of this album quite beautiful: for me, it was love at first listen. (To those who have bought and enjoyed this album: you might also enjoy the CD by Hoahio, on the Tzadik label, on which three Japanese women experiment with everything from pop songs to Japanese folk to pure sound sculpture and improvised noise, with similarly fascinating results.)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Noise-Rock Concrete Noise!,
By Vincent Bergeron - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: SYR 05 (Audio CD)
After, one and a half listens (not a lot for this type of music, but i'm fast to get it often). A nice following to the "a bit too long and uneven, but still excellent" SYR 4. This time, the music is more ambient, post-electronica (well kind-of) like, only a few noisy ones. I wont say anything else about the style, the title of this review explain how dumb it is to classify this music ; it's sound pushing experimentations, not music to some ears. The whole thing is really dense, maybe more than SYR 4 at his most freak out! Not a single weak moment too. Kim Gordon innocent, atonal voice work perfectly over the non-structured textures behind (modified percussions, minimal simple guitar riffs, noises of all sorts). Also, Jim O'Rourke is back on the mix table, i never liked his music, but he is a terrific sound mixer! The whole thing never sound distant, cold, but always warm, near (like the musicians are in front of you)! A great quality for this type of music/noise! So, a really active non-linear musical trip that i liked really much! Not for all ears of course... 6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eclectic,
By J. M. Zuurbier - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: SYR 05 (Audio CD)
The muse behind husband and bandmate Thurston Moore's love of droney, tangent filled guitar lines, Kim Gordon shows her influences here. The fifth in their series of minimal, music concrete-inspired releases, this is a collaboration that collides, twists, and smashes each of its parts. DJ Olive on the turntables mixes the inklings of crackly melodies and slight orchestral washes, while Ikue Mori deals with the scrapes, the swishes, and the organic bleating of beats. Gordon takes care of the affected, alternatively-tuned guitar strumming, and breathy vocal snippets.Each song varies in its usage of these three talents; the album is full of varying degrees of drone (thanks to DJ Olive's wax tracks), paired with odd sounds and irregular rhythms and blasts (thanks to drummer Ikue Mori's avant guard/no wave-ness), and out of tune vocals singing along with muted, chunky Sonic Youth-like guitar lines. The album screeches, wafts, and dissonantly bleaches out any familiar melodies. Highlights include Cibo Matto's Yuka Honda with "Take It To the Hit," and the surprise reggae sample on "Take Me Back." In "We Are The Princesses", Kim Gordon offers an interesting set of vocals and lyrics, repeating over and over "we are the princesses" and then "donald duck will follow her! kill! kill minnie! kill minnie!" over and over, an example of how interesting and diverse this cd can be, definately a great album to own. |
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