Kurws are a peculiar entity. Alarm is their most recent release, and is almost embarrassingly good. “Nagonka” readily baffles you with its odd polyrhythmic bouncing groove accompanied by saxophone and recording artefacts left in. It’s composition aimed at emulating free improvisation, or is it? It doesn’t matter, the result is the same: Alarm is disconcerting and wild! The Polish quartet certainly continues to experiment with music and push themselves on the brink of cohesion. Thanks to analog tape recording, the texture of the sound is at times very grainy, giving even more consistency to the aural soup we’re served, which, … Read more
Tag Archives: experimental rock
Rivener – Rivener
The Connecticut free rock duo Rivener sent me a message about their 2016 album, Svengali Gaze, about which I had mixed feelings – a sentiment I still hold. On September first, they released its successor in this self-titled package of about one dodrant-hour long. Here, I feel a stronger sense of vision and unity within the duo, which translates into semi-improvisations serving much more convincing purposes. The songs on Rivener are oddly reminiscent of Omniataxia‘s “Scatterwhite” in their construct and in their final forms. The band definitely borrows a lot from free jazz, but they apply their knowledge … Read more
Big|Brave – Ardor
Big|Brave is a Montréalais doom-leaning experimental rock trio, and they’re releasing their latest full-length, Ardor, on September fifteen. With only three tracks, the album manages to go on for almost forty-five minutes. Their sound is overwhelmingly huge and hopelessly, crawlingly slow, yet Robin’s voice, at the forefront of the music, sounds fragile and vulnerable. This apparent dichotomy moulds Big|Brave’s sound into something rather unique. The desolate songs are really drawn out and quite uneventful, but so emotionally crushing it’s terrifying. With only two guitars and a drumkit – and a voice –, Big|Brave are able to craft some of … Read more
Porcus vs. Equus – Music out of Shit
Australia’s experimental rock band Porcus vs. Equus just released a single, or short EP, under the name Music out of Shit. With merely three tracks and a runtime of just eight minutes, M.O.O.S. is very short, but also very sweet. First of all, ‘Wet Sugar (Player vs. Environment)’ is a magnificent song to begin with. Reminiscent of the Spaghetti Western aura of Robotmonkeyarm, with their reverb-laden, aggressively-plucked overdriven guitar notes, Porcus vs. Equus bring in some rhythmic and structural surprises into this complex ear-worm of a song. At over three minutes long, it’s the least concise of the triptych, … Read more
Candy – Candy Meatworks
Candy is a one-man project from Czechia, and they’ve just released Candy Meatworks, which appears to be their third opus. The project is one of bass guitar-centric experimental rock. The Czech lyrics are sung in an eccentric fashion, not unlike many other avant-garde bands like Mr. Bungle, to name but one, and the rhythm beneath them is heavily driven by the bass guitar. That makes their sound very funky and almost dancey. As mentioned in their bandcamp description, there’s a special place for dissonance, which emphasize the unique character of the project. The programmed drums are, for the most … Read more