April 10, 2009
Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This installment's virtual milk crate contains Black Water, Shogun Kunitoki, and Vuk.
I made the "joke" about villages in Sweden in the above column blurb because I do think it's important to get out of what we perceive as the usual cultural capitals to find music. Of course, Sweden's a bad choice because it seems like every town in Sweden churns out pop (and death metal) heroes left and right. How about Finland? My fascination with that country's music is broad, but can be boiled down to a few things: (1) Extreme metal from Azaghal to Wyrd and everything letter in between (but lately mostly Rotten Sound, Impaled Nazarene, and Hooded Menace) (2) the uncategorizable Circle (3) Humppa Metal (OK, you get the idea) (4) my discovery and obsession with Fonal and various scene-associated labels a few years ago. (Kemialliset Ystävät, Avarus, Islaja, Kuupuu, Lau Nau, Es, Kiila, Pekko Käppi, etc.) At the time, I did some sort of massive roundup and a live review and reviews of associated albums. More recently, I covered Fonal artist Eleanoora Rosenholm in this column and Lau Nau in Quit Your Day Job. But I went to Finland last week as part of a conference to save the music industry called Is This It?. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to save anything (I'm no hero), but I went largely so I could expand my idea of Finland's musical landscape beyond the aforementioned metal and this one particular scene (and to eat reindeer, and to eat in a castle, of course). It was a great trek (besides the Salmiakki) full of great people and some interesting artists, two of whom tie into what I was already into, and one that's taken me someplace else.
Continue reading The Outsiders: Vol. 28...
Posted at 5:44 PM in ,
Tags: Black Water | Shogun Kunitoki | Vuk
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March 18, 2009
Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This installment's virtual milk crate contains Ganglians.
If you ask them, Sacramento's Ganglians consist of "the whole of the Ganglian race" as well as "the squirrels in the walls that bounce acorns across the ceiling in the dead of night." So far, I've resisted the urge to look too hard to find out more. What I do know is that the group, who creates all-over-the-map damaged-and-psychedelic noise-pop, is about to release an EP and LP on Woodsist. The label's already had a banner year and change via Crystal Stilts, Wavves, Blank Dogs, Vivian Girls, etc. Add this to the trophy case. Really, Ganglians' sound isn't as easy to peg as some of their cohorts -- listen to three songs and you'll hear three different approaches with some similar threads running through. See, for instance, "Hair"'s rollicking dark surf and the more pastoral (and considerably epic) "Valiant Brave." After that, there are links for more.
Continue reading The Outsiders: Vol. 27...
Posted at 3:11 PM by brandon in , ,
Tags: Ganglians | SXSW
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March 2, 2009
Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This installment's virtual milk crate contains Blessure Grave and Cro Magnon.
This time I wanted to focus on two duos from different coasts, San Diego's Blessure Grave and Lafayette, Indiana's Cro Magnon. Blessure Grave got mentioned in passing in the Crocodiles BTW for their split 12" with the Crocs and Cold Cave. The bands offer variations on a theme -- dark pop that looks backwards, albeit in different directions. Instead of the Crocodiles' Jesus & Mary Chain the San Diego duo of Reyna Kay and T. Grave mention (and sonically reference, at times, though never in too straightforward a way) Death In June, Sex Gang Children, Psychic TV. These are all groups that could be linked to Cold Cave, too, but Wesley Eisold inserts more OMD and then the "transgressive" lit of Peter Sotos, Dennis Cooper, etc. Much like Cold Cave's interest in (and connection to) Prurient and other noisy fare, Blessure Grave mention old timers Discharge and TSOL and do a cover of "City Lights," by one of my early (and all-time) favorites, the Shadow Ring (Shadow Ring's Graham Lambkin created the "City Lights" 7" cover art). The track they passed along, "Feeding The Silence," is from a split 12" with Brooklyn neo-folk Death In June enthusiasts Cult Of Youth.
[Photo by Patrick Martin]
Continue reading The Outsiders: Vol. 26...
Posted at 1:01 PM by brandon in ,
Tags: Blessure Grave | Cro Magnon
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January 26, 2009
Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This installment's virtual milk crate contains Crazy Dreams Band, Svarte Greiner, and Emeralds.
The last time I checked in was to list the Outsiders Best Albums of 2008. Here we are almost a month into 2009, so onward...
Crazy Dreams Band create loose, at times manic vocally rich music with enough tuneful elements I can imagine people not usually given to fucked-up sounds getting into them. They're fronted and largely piloted by Lexie Mountain (of the Lexie Mountain Boys) with Religious Knives/Mouthus's Nate Nelson as well as Nick Becker, Jake Freeman, and Chiara Giovando. "Separate Ways" is from the Baltimore band's self-titled full length. The track includes equal parts glitch excursions, jazzy breakdowns, Janis Joplin belting, and Yoko howling. Which makes it a good place to start.
Continue reading The Outsiders: Vol. 25...
Posted at 4:04 PM by brandon in ,
Tags: Crazy Dreams Band | Emeralds | Svarte Greiner
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December 23, 2008
Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This installment's virtual milk crate contains The Best Albums Of 2008.
In 2008 I spent more time listening to metal than anything else. (Note: To that top 20 I would currently find a way to squeeze in Nox Inferi's Adverse Spheres, Aura Noir's Hades Rise, and Mitochondrion's Archaeaeon. Plus, Darkthrone jumps about five points.) That said, these are a few of the other albums I returned to frequently. It's hard labeling them as "Outsider" because they're very much in heavy rotation, and it's the sort of music I'm most drawn to (i.e. I don't find it at all inaccessible), but they're also albums that didn't receive as much mainstream indie hype as, say, Fleet Foxes or TV On The Radio. That's sort of the guiding principle. As far as their link to heavier tastes, I think most of these releases touch upon a certain sonic/aesthetic darkness. Except when noted, the list is in no particular order.
[Liz Harris/Grouper]
Continue reading The Outsiders: The Best Albums Of '08...
Posted at 1:52 PM by brandon in
Tags: Blank Dogs | Caïna | Cold Cave | Dennis Cooper | Dominick Fernow | Grouper | Harry Pussy | Kevin Drumm | Mick Barr | Ocrilim | Peter Rehberg | Peter Sotos | Prurient | Roberto Bolano | Shit And Shine | Valet | Yellow Tears
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December 9, 2008
Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This installment's virtual milk crate contains Wavves.
In the past couple of Outsiders I've focused on underground legendary figures/bands Harry Pussy and No Neck Blues Band alongside newer blood. This week I'm giving the entire spotlight to Wavves, the one-man project of 22-year-old San Diego-based Nathan Williams partly because he makes fuzzy, loopy 4-track bedroom skate-punk/noise-pop, but also because he seems like he's ready to explode from the starter gate with two upcoming records and a groundswell of buzz (and his own knack for melody, the current fascination with DIY culture, etc). Wavves could easily be discounted as No Age Jr., but when you spend time with his songs, they develop a very different, more insular feeling. It's music that might have stayed "outside" even a couple of years ago, but at this point, you can already tell it's on a "new big thing" verge. That's why I have him here: It's interesting how collective ears have toughened up (a bit).
Continue reading The Outsiders: Vol. 23...
Posted at 2:22 PM by brandon in ,
Tags: Wavves
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November 24, 2008
Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This installment's virtual milk crate contains No Neck Blues Band, Xela, and Yellow Tears.
Last installment I got nostalgic about Harry Pussy. Posting an MP3 from No Neck Blues Band could come off as digging into the back of the record collection and reminiscing, but "Ministry Of Voices" is from Clomeim, an extended collagist collection of new material from the Harlem septet. Not that this is surprising: NNCK haven't slowed down since their formation circa 1992 when they started surfacing (at least for those of us in NJ) via hand-screened/painted/etc. LPs and, later, loft shows. In 2006, Qvaris reminded me to keep listening to them; two years later, the invigorating, in-your-face Clomeim gives me reason to run out and see them perform again.
Continue reading The Outsiders: Vol. 22...
Posted at 5:04 PM by brandon in ,
Tags: No Neck Blues Band | Xela | Yellow Tears
November 10, 2008
Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This installment's virtual milk crate contains Harry Pussy.
It makes sense hitting Vol. 21 of the Outsiders by going backwards in time to Harry Pussy, a band (and Bananafish staple) who influenced me (and a generation of noisemakers -- Magik Markers, Wolf Eyes, etc.) and trained my ears when I wasn't old enough to drink. (Showcasing my incurable nostalgia, I recently mentioned them in reference to fellow influence holders, the Dead C). It's not that HP's recorded anything new -- they've been kaput or more than a decade. Instead, Load just released a 42-track compilation of out-of-print rarities and previously unreleased material.
Continue reading The Outsiders: Vol. 21...
Posted at 4:14 PM by brandon in , ,
Tags: Harry Pussy
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