11.08.2008

Stunned no. 17


Tricorn & QueueContinual Passage c40 (Stunned no. 17) — out of stock

Tricorn & Queue have captured the hearts & minds of many of us this year with their previous two ultra hypnotic tapes on Digitalis and Housecraft. Well, the headbands are wrapped, the hidden entrance has been found, and now Housecraft's own Jeff Astin and Kane Pour step again into the thick of a cosmic ritual passageway on this latest quest for the ultimate philosopher's tone. Launching out from the remnants of magnetic decay that closed the last release, here T&Q cast similar cycles of satellite purr and crackling naturescapes that unfold like nocturnal blooms. The humid loops gradually increase in secretive tensions that linger long after the final decibels fold back around to the first step of the journey. Stay on the good path with one of our favorite sound & craft outfits around. Hand numbered edition of 120 pro-dubbed c40 tapes in blue shells with gold ink imprinting and color j-card.

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reviews:

"This is pure aesthetic escapism. This is a deep river of milky neon haze. This is the wallpaper in a baby's room coming to life. This is the the sound track to a slow motion film about waterways- complete with artificial field recordings and burnt out technicolor visuals. This is the perfect aural accompaniment to the visual art of Jeffry Astin (one part of Tricorn and Queue) -drenched in those same strange colors from worn out 1970's picture books. It's hard to separate the sounds from the listening experience. I feel warm and comforted, and not the least bit bored. I feel like a kid again. I feel like I'm floating. What more do I need to say? This is beyond essential listening for anyone with an interest in unique analog drone music that is creating a new space for itself. 10/10" - Foxy Digitalis
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"With this tape they continue with the same crystal synth vibes found on their older releases. Here, though, they are roughed up a little by sundry scrapes and hisses. What sounds like field-recordings of wind drift in and add texture to the little loops of clear tones that have characterized their previous work. The drowsy, lilting pieces bleed into each other, occasionally cutting out and drifting underneath the environmental cracks and pops. The clouds of delicate drones make a gorgeously impenetrable haze - transcendental little soundscapes that are somehow as simple as they are dense. Though the most apt descriptor for this lovely, ethereal tape is ‘otherworldly,’ with the gradual fluctuations, the age-damaged field recordings, and occasional rolling chimes and bells the tape maintains a rather organic, human feel. But unlike lots of drone-based music, this piece becomes much more than its process - the actual instruments have been transformed into pure, indeterminate sound. Each piece is so smooth that there is very little to hold onto as the little streams of sound drift by, which only drives one to listen over and over again." - c60 Radio

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"Warped and bubbly drone with plenty of warmth. Far from the sterile drone-works of other contemporaries, this work is almost crystalline and has a glowing lo-fi edge to it that many drone recordings lack. It's kinda like the Stars of the Lid debut if those bastards hadn’t have been so moody... Environmental field recordings swing into the mix with ease, giving these recording an earthy vibe." - Expressway to My Skull

Stunned no. 16


Brave PriestPrecious Summers c30 (Stunned no. 16) — out of stock

These Portland bud-n-beard powered bros absolutely shred their way through the most killer motor-psych sessions of the year! The night we first heard Brave Priest's "No Blood" single which kicks off this tape was admittedly some sort of epiphany, and got our total attention for sure. Dudes-in-mention Matt McDowell, Dan Barone, and Brain Thackeray (all formerly of the excellent Dark Yoga) perfectly nail us with serotonin rushed northwest grunge-fried vibes that remind everyone to just relax & ROCK. The troupe rips through a trio of gnarly jams on Side A, ranging from drowsy garage-prog slowburnin' to quaking metal spinouts. Side B is a single 12-minute epic that twists and arcs toward a pinnacle of hot psych purity. Hit play and pump yer fists to the dawn of a new day. Hand numbered edition of 100 pro dubbed c30 tapes in logo-imprinted yellow shells with 3rd eye cover art by Cameron Stallones.
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reviews:

"The tape begins with “No Blood”, mellow wah’d guitar notes materializing in the misty tape hiss before a lethargic bass groove starts up along with minimal drumming... The song maintains a loose leisurely vibe for most of it’s duration but a drum-led rave ensues near the end of the track with some sinister bass notes before dropping back into the original groove and ending on dry, sparse percussive hits. “Vampire Canyon” follows and kicks the tempo up a couple notches. The band plays strictly as a unit here all following the same rhythmic pattern until they slip into separate suits, the guitar contributing a wah-fried lead, the bass creates a heavy-as-shit presence with only one note and the drumming keeps the whole thing afloat. Things get a bit faster and sludgy which you know I like. Probably my favorite song on the tape “Give You Bone” closes out side A. This one forgoes the guitar for a heavy bass/drums groove and barking vocals, a tad like the Jesus Lizard but with a jammy elasticity instead of “Gladiator”-style pummel. The guitar is used sparely and perfectly, providing an occasional bleating exclamation point. Great song, three to four minutes of bad vibes. Flip the tape for the side long jam “Yellow Revolution”. The piece features all three members going full throttle. Some really excellent guitar skree here and a thunderous thrashing from the rhythm section. Really dig McDowell’s detailed stickwork too (is stickwork even a term??). It sounds like there’s a little keyboard trill in there somewhere but maybe it’s just the guitar, the brief melodic glimmers provided by the guitar and bass are key to the track’s success. That the jam stays vicious, never getting boring, is a testament to the power of the groove and the group’s performance. Brave Priest quiets down near the end bringing in the first appearance of vocals on the side before bludgeoning the jam home." - AUXILIARY OUT

"Just a heavy duty situation all around, the side manages to reach some pockets of delusional fury the likes of which a lot of those 60s biker bands were never willing to go. Guess Brave Priest has time and a whole world of influences on their side. Or maybe it's just that the pot's stronger. Totally amazing tape that's sold out at source but likely available somewhere out there. If not, someone reissue this thing... could be the summer jammer of 2009!" - Ear Conditioned Nightmare

Stunned no. 15


Masons / Molten HoneyIn the Basement of the Temple / Molten Honey c30 (Stunned no. 15) —out of stock

During the winter of 2005, NY filmmaker Matthew Lessner (Darling Darling; By Modern Measure; The Woods) and his then 14-year old sister Sophie fortuitously gained late-nite access to the basement of their hometown's Masonic Temple. Creeping under dark cloaks and employing the sense of sibling telepathy, the two managed to set up their gear and capture the session of what is now their delirious 2008 debut tape side In the Basement of the Temple. We've enjoyed playing this demo the last few years for any Stunned houseguest wanting the ultimate nutso explosion of graveyard confetti punk. We also can't think of a better bush-era sayonara statement, hence the three year wait on properly unleashing this fifteen-minute flash. Totally freaked out, all manner of esoteric energies pent up behind the boiler room doors of the lodge are channeled furiously thru the duo – Sophie's lacerating clarinet feedback & guitar punctuations bleat in perfect pulse to Matthew's neon war cries and punished drum kit. One would think flipping this tape over might provide some relief from the A-side's secret society onslaught. But that's exactly where John Frank's Molten Honey awaits in a den of sound dementia, hammering his former psych'd folk styles into even more obtuse angles of guitar rattle, contact mic probe & synth key slap. This self titled B-side provides eight vastly different post-2012 snapshots that wiggle their mercurial imagery under our mesmerized gaze. Hand numbered edition of 100 pro dubbed c30 tapes in imprinted hot orange shells & fold-out color j-card.
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review of Masons side:

"Maybe the underground air got to their heads but this is a pretty sour affair, starting with some pounding drums and pierced out guitar licks over the mumbled satanic baritone mutterings of Matthew. Really can't believe his sister's 14 here, as it's a grim affair that is far more aware and weird than anyone I knew when I was 14. Hell, who am I kidding. I don't know anyone this cool at 22... when the drums and lyrics drop out for a second you get some really fried guitar mayhem and punked out glitched nuthouse stuff. Real free form, back to the basics material that's far more radical than anything about 90% of the free primitivist rock guys can muster. Maybe they could do it cause no one was in attendance. Or maybe they just wanted everyone who was there to leave. Every sound here is so fuzzed out and fucked though that it's just cruddy and scuzzed out enough for it to really come together. A killer side." - Ear Conditioned Nightmare

review of Molten Honey side:

"Snippets of lyrics come in and out but mostly its just lobotomized weirdness here--even somehow congeals into the weirdest dance beats you've never heard at points. Big time air-conditioned vibe on the third cut, whose hollowed out sonics really manage to get in the noggin and squirrel about. You even get the sound of the door to your skull opening. And then the vibes come in and you're just totally left in the dust. Tinkly quasi-melodies, sratched out blurts of sound and synth kookiness all amount to some of the most genuinely weird and out there stuff I've heard in a while. Totally together though. Really an awesome split, both sides fit right in with one another, presenting two sides of the same equation." - ECN

11.04.2008

Stunned bonus #5



Eureka 'Cloud Stages' mini-cdr (Stunned bonus #5) — out of stock

Beautiful billows of grand piano fog captured here as only Eureka can do. Recorded straight to detuned tape reel, William's combination of warbled analog overtones with his lucid ivory key minimalism drops us all into the end credits of the most nostalgic of old beta tapes imaginable. A glimpse down the path into Eureka's future burned offerings, as he explores beyond previous modes of psych guitar & drone blackout. Handnumbered edition of 50 mini-cdrs in biz card case with color slipsleeve and insert.