We're skewing strange with a slate of left-field experimentalists for this week's Sunday Soundtracking playlist.
How strange? From the spaced fuzz of Iran (picture above) and atmospheric gaze of A Shoreline Dream to the nearly unclassifiable sonics of D. Rider, Mi Ami and Black Dice, this Sunday's dose might force you to dig out your dusty thesaurus. Blast off!
Who: Iran
__What: __"Can I Feel What?"
__Where: __Dissolver, out Feb. 3 (Narnack Records)
Sounds like: XTC, Pavement, Sebadoh
Spiel: San Francisco's Aaron Aites was making records in his bedroom under the Iran moniker long before he hooked up with TV On the Radio guitarist Kyp Malone. But after he did, the band entered a real studio and signed up TV star David Sitek to helm this heady, brain-teasing mash of rock fuzz and clever lyricism. Meanwhile, politicos or theocrats freaking out over the band's moniker can chill: It is named for Deckard's wife in Philip K. Dick's seminal shorty, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" -- also known as Blade Runner to the noobs.
Who: A Shoreline Dream
__What: __"Hypermode"
Where: Recollections of Memory, out Feb. 10 (Latenight Weeknight Records)
Sounds like: Film School, Ride, My Bloody Valentine
Spiel: A Wired.com favorite, this Colorado-based collective creates atmospheric pop and rock that recalls the best of so-called shoegaze fed through our new millennium's filter. The band will explain the differences in an interview with Wired.com next week. Meanwhile, dig into this track, which is a collaboration with fellow space soundtracker Ulrich Schnauss. The rest of the release is a similarly futuristic trip down memory lane. Enjoy the ... Ride. (Get it?)
Who: D. Rider
__What: __"Touchy"
Where: Mother of Curses, out Feb. 17 (Tizona Records)
Sounds like: Singer, Peter Murphy, Brazzaville
Spiel: Guitarist and vocalist Todd Rittman's other band Singer is like Pink Floyd through the looking glass. This side project with keyboardist/cornetist Andrea Faught and saxophonist/singer Noah Tabakin is much harder to classify. Pieced together on cassettes, phones, reel-to-reel tape and other past-it gear, Mother of Curses is a hefty slice of junk science for your ears.
Who: Mi Ami
What: "New Guitar"
Where: Watersports, out Feb. 17 (Quarterstick Records)
Sounds like: Talking Heads, DeFacto
Spiel: A collaboration between drummer Damon Palermo and Black
Eyes' vocalist/guitarist Daniel Martin-McCormick and bassist Jacob
Long, this San Francisco-based outfit specializes in outer-limits noise and rhythm that leapfrogs between genres and time signatures. It's an experimental head trip that rewards repeat listening, so don't be put off by its challenging structures. Embrace change.
Who: Black Dice
What: "Glazin"
Where: Repo, out April 7 (Paw Tracks)
Sounds like: Merzbow, Amon Tobin, little else
Spiel: You've got to hand it to Aaron Warren and brothers Eric and Bjorn Copeland: They know how to make music fiends scratch their swollen heads. This fifth full-length features further estranged soundscaping that sounds like it may deconstruct itself at any moment. Full of glitched loops and auditory weirdness seemingly crafted underwater, "Glazin" goes nowhere and has a great time along the way.
*Photos: Narnack Records, Latenight Weeknight Records, Quarterstick Records
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See also:
- Sunday Soundtracking: Animal Collective, Goblin Cock, More
- Sunday Soundtracking: Heartless Bastards, Psychic Ills, More
- Bang Your Nerd: Rob Crow Talks Goblin Cock, Star Wars and Comics
- Paul's Boutique Reissue Recalls Beastie Boys' Essential Hip-Hop
- Flight of the Conchords Attracts Weirdos, Wired Winners
- Girl Talk's Gregg Gillis Lets It RiP on Copyfight, Tour Vlogging
