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 eclectic virtual milk crate contains Lucky Dragons, The Julie Mittens, MGR, and Xela.
I wanted to start with Lucky Dragons, probably the widest known of this installment's artists. They (Luke Fischbeck, Sarah Rara, and friends) are part of the current Whitney Biennial and are playing a show there 5/23 with the excellent visual artist Matthew Brannon (they did a Biennial-related show with Rob from High Places on 3/11) and are tight pals with YACHT, et al, so you could argue that they're actually insiders, but this is about sound...
When I reviewed Widowslast year, I complained about the ADD quotient of the work, that I was hoping Fischbeck would get into (or at least emulate) Henry Flynt or Burning Star Core and let it flow: "His live shows receive high praise-- some sort of interactive Please Touch museum with audience participation and collaboration. To me, that seems like just the sort of endlessness Widows needs: songs moving from hand to hand, spiraling as long as the audience keeps the tools afloat." Listening to the new, more impressively mysterious work Dream Island Laughing Language, I decided to close my eyes and forget about when one song stops and another starts. I did that last time a well, but here there's enough going on that I can stop bothering with intention. They've tapped into something freer, less attached. So, if you see the work as a dream language, a stream-of-conscious river of sound, it's all the more hypnotic ... but then, going back on my own listening ideal, here's one track by its phantom-limb lonesome. I'm offering the last song on side A of the vinyl. This way, at least, I'm only dislodging it halfway from its context.
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 eclectic virtual milk crate contains Religious Knives, GazHeart, Arklight, and R. Keenan Lawler for Loren Connors.
"Luck" comes from Religious Knives' Resin, out now on No Fun. (The song was originally released on "The Luck / In The Back" 12" via Heavy Tapes, edition of 300. More.) And more...
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 eclectic virtual milk crate contains Scott Tuma, The Child Readers, and Nalle.
Scott Tuma played in Souled American, Boxhead Ensemble, put out a couple of solo records, and has worked with Zelienople in Good Stuff House (there's a 2006 CD-R on Time-Lag). Tuma's last solo album The River 1 2 3 4 came out in '03, but Brad Rose of Digitalis approached him to record a third, so after a five year solo pause, he's put together the breathtaking Not For Nobody. It's already an excellently rusted, classic feeling collection. The dozen songs are mostly instrumental -- acoustic guitar, banjo, harmonium, etc. -- but I'm posting the first three, including "Nobody (River Of Tin)," which has Scott's voice slowed then sped-up like a spectral child. These tracks ("Nobody" plus "Fishen" and "Eloper") form a cohesive triptych of sorts, so listen straight through.
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 eclectic virtual milk crate contains a few SXSW suggestions..
A bunch of bands are currently getting a bunch of SXSW attention. A bunch aren't. The following haven't been grabbing the biggest headlines, but they just might blow you away if you part the hype a little. Thing is, once I started scratching the surface, taking day parties into consideration and looking at the bands playing around the bands I wanted to recommend, the list got a tad unruly. So as a reaction to the overload, I'm just suggesting a handful. If they seem interesting to you, maybe you could do the math and figure out if there are other bands on the bill worth your time, effort, and eardrums.
[Liz Harris, aka Grouper, out of focus in skeletal corpse paint]
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 eclectic virtual milk crate contains Los Siquicos Litoraleños, Hayvanlar Alemi, and Eleanoora Rosenholm.
I heard about the Argentinian band Los Siquicos Litoraleños while having a conversation sometime last week with Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls, Sublime Frequencies). He directed me to their MySpace and suggested I check out "Rancho Rocha" at YouTube. I return the favor.
When I contacted the band about hosting some tracks they responded: "Just 3 things: no problem, no problem, no problem ... that is to mean we always like people over there to download our mp3s and make comments about them." Get to it.
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 eclectic virtual milk crate contains Cursillistas, Growing, Rameses III, and a little something from Velvet Cacoon
I wanted to get this installment started with Cursillistas, the project of Portland, Maine's Matt Lajoie. (I remember folks were talking shit about Maine when we BTW'd locals Fire On Fire. Lajoie's but another reason to invalidate that sorta State-ism, or whatever you'd call it.) Cursillistas, who's previously released material on Time-Lag as well as a zillion other small labels, is back with Wasp Stings The Last Bitter Flavor, via the always reliable Digitalis Industries. He doesn't go it alone on this one: Time-Lag's Nemo Birdstrup and (occasional MV & EE collaborator) Sparrow Wildchild are also adding sounds. The lengthy, dark-naturalist album title comes from author Scott Heim's In Awe (you likely know him best from Mysterious Skin), but it might as well be torn from a Wiccan cookbook. Fans of Jewelled Antler's spookier rambles should be into it -- droning, looping psych-folk. Before heading into the more epic "Larks On A String," dip your toes into the cauldron with the sylvan, parading "Moccasin Tramp."
To hear a lengthier, admirably danker track from the same record, along with more spacious sounds from Growing, Rameses III, and Velvet Cacoon, please jump.
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 eclectic virtual milk crate contains Prurient, Prurient - Kevin Drumm, Ocrilim, and a little something from Eystek
This past week, on a suitably rainy night, I met up with Prurient/Ash Pool pal Dominick Fernow at Hospital Productions, the noise and extreme metal record store he runs in Manhattan (and which takes the same name as his label). After blabbing a while, and before nabbing some Chinese, he gave me the CD version of All Are Guests In The House Of The Lord, his collaboration with Chicago experimental improviser, wicked prepared guitarist, and metal encyclopedia Kevin Drumm. Dominick was about to skip town for a brief tour though England with Drumm, so the album -- it was initially released as a now out-of-print cassette -- seemed all the more timely. By coincidence, the next day I found myself listening to and loving Prurient's forthcoming album, the first full-length since 2006's Pleasure Ground (Load). It's excellent. With everything coming up Prurient, I decided to make the next Outsiders installment a little Dom-heavy, so here it is: MP3s and tour dates after the jump.
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 eclectic virtual milk crate contains Sascha Funke, Jon Mueller, and Collections Of Colonies Of Bees.
I really like Sascha Funke's new record Mango, which comes out (around) 2/11 on BPitch Control. I'm not always sucked into electronic albums, but there's something about the melancholia and dark iciness woven through the gurgling beats that gets me. I decided to ask the German DJ/producer a few questions, so I could put more of a human touch behind the clicks and thumps of something I can't stop playing.
Extra Life's Secular Works arrived unknown in our mailbox and quickly found its way into regular rotation. The New York group is fronted by guitarist/vocalist Charlie Looker, who spent six years in ZS, has played with Mick Barr, was a...
Unless you were born with one of those silver spoons, you likely work a day job, sneaking time for your own business when not taking care of someone else's. You're not alone. Brandon Stosuy finds out how our favorite indie...
Three years ago Apologies To The Queen Mary established Wolf Parade as major indie players. Since then, though, the core members' various other projects and collaborations, including Handsome Furs, Frog Eyes, Swan Lake, and Sunset Rubdown (especially), became the main...
Every week, we dig in the archives for videos that we find noteworthy, memorable, or just unbelievably stupid. And then, Jon McMillan breaks 'em down for you. This week: the worst courtroom video of all time.
Take our ink-stained hands and join us at the OldStand, where Jon McMillan goes to remind everyone what an honest-to-goodness music magazine is supposed to look like. A while back we excavated SPIN's 8th Anniversary Dando-fest; now, through the magic...
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 eclectic...
We dug Invasive Exotics, Houston crew Indian Jewelry's 2006 long player, but the feedback feels warmer, the structures more assured, expansive, unhinged and less Doors-y/VU-derived on Free Gold!. In fact, even if you didn't like their older work, you might...
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 eclectic virtual milk crate contains Lucky Dragons, The Julie Mittens, MGR, and Xela. 
