“It’s a lot to take in… It’s impossible to see,” Jack Cooper sings on Modern Nature’s No Fixed Point In Space. The limits of language fascinate Cooper, who spends much of the album guiding his collaborators, including members of The Necks, This Is Not This Heat, and Julie Tipppets, to a place where words aren’t required. But sometimes language does come in handy, which is why we rang Cooper up at his space near Cambridge, UK, to discuss the album, how the natural world informs his creative process, and the nebulous zone between composition and improvisation.
Year: 2023
Scott Walker :: The Drift
For those who celebrate Halloween by seeking out sounds that thrill and chill, few records are as consistently terrifying on a purely auditory level as Scott Walker’s The Drift.
Senza Decoro: Liebe + Anarchia / Switzerland 1980-1990
Some excellent spooky season jams on the latest compilation from Strut, Senza Decoro: Liebe + Anarchia / Switzerland 1980-1990. Curated by Turkish-Swiss producer / DJ Mehmet Aslan, the collection traverses a diverse, free-form musical landscape splintering off from Europe’s post-punk scene. Trick or treat, indeed.
Videodrome :: Race With The Devil (1975)
While being a low-budget exploitation film, Race With The Devil transcends its genre trappings and sets itself apart from other drive-in movies of the 1970s. It understands that true horror — the kind that gets under your skin and lingers with you long after the credits roll — doesn’t come from blood and guts, but from the universal fear of the unknown: not knowing who to trust or who is out to get you.
Woods :: Perennial
As is the case in pretty much any situation, the late David Berman said it best when describing Woods as his very own “jangle merchants” around the time they served as his backing band on Purple Mountains. Songwriters Jeremy Earl and Jarvis Taveniere have created something spellbinding, impressive and lasting with Perennial, their 12th record.
Chuck Johnson :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Whether composing for film or creating records of windswept, spectral pedal steel, Chuck Johnson imbues his music with a sense of mystery and dynamic tension. His latest album is Music From Burden of Proof a soundtrack to Cynthia Hill’s HBO docu-series exploring Stephen Pandos’ investigation into the 1987 disappearance of his sister, Jennifer Pandos.
Trick Or Treat: Vintage Halloween Mixtapes
Spooky season is officially here. As such, we are uploading each volume of the Grey Haas compiled Trick Or Treat mixtape series for AD patrons (they begin with Volume five). Choice vintage Halloween spookers…
En Attendant Ana :: Principia
It’s always a great feeling when a band hits its stride — and that is the feeling you’ll get when you spin En Attendant Ana’s third LP. Principia makes good on the promise of the Parisian quintet’s earlier work while expanding and enhancing their overall sound, centered on Margaux Bouchaudo’s terrific vocals. There’s a pleasing swagger to the album’s 10 tracks, a confidence mixed with playfulness, whether the band is approximating mid-period Stereolab on “Same Old Story,” getting beautifully wistful on “Fools & Kings,” or — sweetest of all — crafting a towering motorik anthem on “Wonder.” Principia might be the best indie rock record you’ll hear in 2023!
Kuku Sebsibe :: S/T
A marvelous collection of Ethiopian pop from the early 1980s. The Addis Ababa-born Kuku Sebsibe’s beautiful vocals float over classic Ethio soul/jazz backing — elegant keys, breezy brass and melodic bass all wafting through the mix. Though it leans towards the gentler side of things for the most part, things do get fairly funky from time to time. Released on the excellent Little Axe label, it feels like a necessary breath of fresh air.
The Aquarium Drunkard Show (The Halloween Edition)
Broadcasting from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery … The Aquarium Drunkard Show. The Halloween edition, Wednesday night / 7pm California time. SIRIUS/XM ~ Channel 35.
Cactus Lee :: Caravan
On Caravan, his sixth album in four years (not accounting for the crackling Live from the Dry Creek Cafe), Cactus Lee’s Kevin Dehan showcases an incredible and exponentially focused growth in songwriting, an ascent as fast as you can hear his band now play. Expanding out from the lo-fi homespun beginnings of his now classic early efforts, Dehan has embraced a bigger and more studio-based sound that, in part, now reflects the live show that has become so integral to the world of Cactus Lee.
Video Age :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
New Orleans duo Video Age are associated with rhythmic, dream pop pallette, but with their latest album Away from the Castle, songwriters Ross Farbe and Ray Micarelli augment new wave gloss with a heavy dose of tuneful, guitar-based pop—think Real Estate in a particularly sunny mood or Whitney on a heavy Beatles kick. With all that jangle and strum comes a rededication to their core friendship, complete with “Better Than Ever,” a number that works like a platonic love song.
Aquarium Drunkard :: Mailbag, Vol. VI
Long time reader, first time caller? Welcome to Mailbag, our monthly column in which we dig in and respond to your questions. Got a query? Hit us up at aqdmailbag@gmail.com. In this month’s bag: a grip of essential mixtapes, jazz tomes, and overcoming listening burnout.
Transmissions :: Buck Meek (Big Thief)
You know Buck Meek from Big Thief and his solo albums, like this year’s Haunted Mountain. Full of near-death experiences and tender but insistent roots-inspired songwriting, it’s an album that finds inspiration in the mysterious Mount Shasta, long a site of high strangeness. He joins us to discuss Jolie Holland, Judee Sill, Bob Dylan, Big Thief and reciprocity this week on Transmissions.
Joseph Shabason :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
If you’ve ever stepped foot on a skateboard, you’re in the club for life. For Toronto-based saxophonist Joseph Shabason, this revelation provided the inspiration for his latest project: a new album-length score for the classic 1996 skate video, Toy Machine’s Welcome To Hell. With the blessing of company founder, pro skater, and visual artist Ed Templeton (who also provided album art), Shabason’s Welcome To Hell is a passion project dating back to his formative childhood memories.