Category: Reviews

Reviews

Pinkcourtesyphone “All Intensive Purposes”

“Everything’s pink in this villa, so it’s called the pink villa,” explains Mrs. Goforth, the dying protagonist of Tennessee Williams’ play The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore. The color pink has been a conceptual thread and namesake of Richard Chartier’s Pinkcourtesyphone project, dialing up its tenth year with All Intensive Purposes, seven tracks released on Lawrence English’s Room40 label and described succinctly as “catastrophe muzak.” Chartier … Continue reading Pinkcourtesyphone “All Intensive Purposes”

Matthew KinlinLeave a comment
The Capsule Garden

The Capsule Garden Vol 1.27: August 5, 2022

August is going to be a slow month here at FDHQ as I soak up the last bits of summer vacation with my daughter before school starts back and try to finish up a host of music projects that have been languishing the previous few months. (Though debuts from two new duos, Country Wifi and Building Buildings are close now!) Today, a new Ajilvsga, Choker, album … Continue reading The Capsule Garden Vol 1.27: August 5, 2022

Brad RoseLeave a comment
Reviews

Amirtha Kidambi & Luke Stewart “Zenith/Nadir”

The fierce scream of now. That’s how an article in the Jazz Right Now blog described an Amirtha Kidambi and Luke Stewart live set, and that’s as apt of a description of the music produced by these two creative musical stalwarts as any. Kidambi’s voice runs through the entire cycle of human emotion, from calm to chaos. Whether she’s singing with her band Elder Ones … Continue reading Amirtha Kidambi & Luke Stewart “Zenith/Nadir”

Bryon HayesLeave a comment
The Capsule Garden

The Capsule Garden Vol 1.26 July 29, 2022

Another week of blazing temperatures has given way to torrential rain, flooding, and tropical humidity. Climate change is going well. In better news, Carl Antonowicz (Open Casket Sound System, the real star of Foxy Digitalis’s Illustrated Reviews, etc.) and I finally played some music together after talking about it for most of the year. More on that soon. In the meantime, here’s a heap of music worth … Continue reading The Capsule Garden Vol 1.26 July 29, 2022

Brad RoseLeave a comment
Reviews

Lila Bazooka “Arashiyama”

I am a sucker for bassoon music. Bassoon is one of the core components of Lila Bazooka, the duo of Sophie Bernado and Céline Grangey; the narrative spaces they create push well beyond what I imagine when I think of the instrument. Using the rich, organic timbre of Bernado’s bassoon playing as a jumping-off point, the electronics, sound design, and more cast intricate shapes against … Continue reading Lila Bazooka “Arashiyama”

Brad RoseLeave a comment
Reviews

Joel St. Julien “Masking”

It often feels like that light at the end of the proverbial tunnel is permanently out of reach. Darkness is always creeping two, three steps ahead. On Masking, though, Joel St. Julien finds a way through. Learning about the idea of “masking” and gaining a deeper understanding of his neurodivergence while realizing how much he’d been hiding his personal struggles became a jumping-off point for St. … Continue reading Joel St. Julien “Masking”

Brad RoseLeave a comment
Reviews

marine eyes “chamomile”

The lush tones of secret garden hymnals become tangible, ethereal landscapes in Cynthia Bernard’s hands as marine eyes. The ten vignettes on chamomile don’t simply tell a story; they invite listeners to find their own narrative within these lilting arrangements. The empty space is nestled within the warm synths, expressive guitars, and magnetic field records. Somewhere we can immerse ourselves and find a hypnotic calm. Stretched melodies … Continue reading marine eyes “chamomile”

Brad RoseLeave a comment
Reviews

New Monuments “Language is the Skin”

Throw together a soup of Don Dietrich, Ben Hall, Tony Gordon, and Camille Dietrich, and the resulting fire shouldn’t come as a surprise. Language is the Skin is an absolute sonic assault, blitzing through misery fields and kaleidoscopic razor wire to blaze a bleeding path into dystopia. New Monuments always have their own shred style, but the palette shifts and expands with Tony Gordon and Camille Dietrich … Continue reading New Monuments “Language is the Skin”

Brad RoseLeave a comment
The Capsule Garden

The Capsule Garden Vol 1.25 July 22, 2022

It’s been a thousand degrees all week, and it’s a miracle my brain is anything more than a puddle of spoiled mush. Today I will attempt to channel that pulp into another Country WiFi (my new duo with Nathan Alexander Pape) session, though the heat will have other ideas. Alas… Every week I am utterly overwhelmed by the amount of music coming through, and every … Continue reading The Capsule Garden Vol 1.25 July 22, 2022

Brad Rose1 Comment
Reviews

Wilfrido Terrazas “My Shadow Leads This Way”

Shadows and silhouettes become tangible outlines buried deep in the earth on Wilfrido Terrazas’ beguiling My Shadow Leads This Way. The Mexican flutist and composer uses the words of poet Ricardo Cázares to investigate the idea of meaning itself, the aural expositions becoming explorations of how memory can render a narrative that becomes a significance of its own. My Shadow Leads This Way combines heady reflections with intricate, … Continue reading Wilfrido Terrazas “My Shadow Leads This Way”

Brad RoseLeave a comment