New Music: Soft Circle, Woods, Hannu

Soft Circle - Moon Oar Sunrise (Eastern Developments 2007)

Soft Circle - Full Bloom / Eastern Developments

If I had a million dollars I would comission Hisham Bharoocha (aka Soft Circle) to come work magic on my house, and like some post-postmodern Michaelangelo, he would transform the place into an acid-tripping Sistine Chapel of bright, kinetic shapes. After instructing me in Vipassana meditation, Hisham would board his plane and I would say to him, very gratiously, "Nah, man, take it all because you've opened my eyes to the true nature of the universe". Aside from being a vital visual artist (with skills honed at the Rhode Island Institute of Design), Hisham can count himself as a founding member of Lightning Bolt and Black Dice. Those are lofty creative heights to say the least and Full Bloom is a strong indicator that we are seeing an artist in the warm light of spring. Bharoocha left Black Dice after Creature Comforts and his influence is evident on that record's trance-inducing drums and warm organic washes. On tracks like "Sundazed" and "Shimmer", both traditional and electronic percussion combine to put Mike Oldfield to shame; this is what your NPR-loving mom should be listening to if she really wants to "go for it" and find palpable inner peace. Bharoocha's undulating chants provide a deep, spiritual resonance to most of the songs here, and wouldn't sound out of place floating from a temple in Lhasa, especially on "Moon Oar Sunrise" with its gut-punching crescendo coaxing your soul to blast off into the astral plane. "Earthed" is the only real anamoly here, sounding more like Aphex Twin; its way too abrupt in disrupting the album's heady, natural feel, but thats only a small bump on the path to enlightenment. Full Bloom is a triumphant solo debut; shining and incorporeal, its one for your mind, body, and soul.





Woods - Hunover (Shrimper 2007)

Woods - At Rear House / Shrimper

I've never been much of an outdoorsman. My dad tried his best when I was younger, taking me deerhunting in the murky forests of lower-state South Carolina, but instead of dutifully waiting there with my gun I'd slip back inside the truck and listen to the radio. Maybe I'm less of a man for never having shot an animal but looking down that testosterone-laden path makes me glad I'm here in front of my computer right now instead of driving around in a monster truck thats supposed to project my unquestionable masculinity. If I were to revisit that hunting club at this point in my life, I'd definitely be listening to Woods. The duo of Jeremy Earl and Christian DeRoeck must like spending time with nature because they've coined the term "woodsist"; a word that (at least to me) signifies an appreciation for slow living, the kind of life that allows for the rest and relaxation of nature walks and campfire jam sessions. The songwriting reflects Earl and DeRoeck's dueling musical personas, moonlighting in the smart indie pop band, Meneguar, and also running Fuck-It Tapes, a tape-only (duh!) label thats released material from experimental royalty like D Yellow Swans, Excepter, and Magik Markers. Two-thirds of the record is comprised of rustic, bittersweet numbers not too far from the Microphones or a more minimal-minded Doug Martsch, but tracks like "Picking up the Pieces" and "Woods Children Pt. 2" escape off into the darkness of more experimental folk. At Rear House is a saavy record, melding memorable verse-chorus-verse songs with weirdo farmland explorations.





Hannu - Sumu (Osaka 2006)

Hannu - Worms In My Piano / Osaka

Hey listen up to this! Any of you kids hip to labels like Fonal, Type, or Carpark need need need to check out the Irish-based Osaka, and yeah, that is kinda like KFC in a Moscow airport, but these are the times we live in. Like you, I can thank Fonal for cultivating my mental image of Finland as some mystical snow kingdom filled with wood nymphs and oracles hidden deep in the drift. So its no coincidence that the music of Helsinki-based musician/filmmaker Hannu Karjalainan does alot for me on cold nights, when its too miserable to be active, and I can only find solace in a nice, warm place. Worms In My Piano sounds like enforced isolation, the kind brought on by perpetual darkness and neverending snowfall. Icy dins permeate this record. The opener, "Sumu", sounds alot like the infinitely small noise of a single snowflake hitting the ground. It could be eighty degrees out and I'd still need a blanket, such is the bleak winter mood of Worms In My Piano. Hannu is very good at painting landscapes with sound; he has a director's eye for mood-lighting and its no surprise he admits the influence of films by Bergman, Tarkovsky, and Lynch. "Lhyty" scores the scene for winter's first big storm, as the sky lowers and the sun retreats. "Ikuisuus" whistles and scrapes like the wind and "Suruista Suurin" signals your acceptance of the stark winter ahead. This may be music that melts come springtime but for now Hannu's Worms In My Piano is very much in season.