Posts

The New Eves :: Post-Punk Drone Folk from Brighton

The New Eves—the Brighton-based quartet of Nina Winder-Lind, Kate Mager, Ella Oona Russell, and Violet Farrer—craft a rousing brew of post-punk, drone-folk, and avant-choral psych that evokes The Raincoats, Nico, Television, and Horses-era Patti Smith in equal measure, offering one of the more exciting new sounds we’ve heard this year . . .

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Jim White :: All Hits: Memories

What happens when a renowned collaborator records a solo album? That’s the question when considering Jim White’s first solo endeavor, All Hits: Memories. White first came to prominence as the drummer for the seminal Australian band Dirty Three and now comprises the other half of a slew of duos, including Xylouris White, The Double, and with Marisa Anderson. Additionally, he's provided percussive wizardry to songs by Cat Power, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, PJ Harvey, Bill Callahan, and many others. White has an innate ability to adapt to the particular tone of a song, his contributions are always apt . . .

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The Fourth Way :: Werwolf

The Fourth Way were one of the more intriguing denizens of the psychedelic ballroom circuit in the Bay Area of the late 1960s. With a quartet lineup of bass, drums, electric violin and ring-modulated electric piano, their strange sound, alternately funky and trippy, represented one of the first serious attempts to merge jazz with acid rock. Werwolf, the last of their three albums, was recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in June 1970. Even with the subpar sound, it's a killer slab of the very earliest fusion . . .

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Light Pollution: The Roots of Ambient Jazz

As Aquarium Drunkard recently reported, ambient appears to be the shape of jazz to come. The newest new thing is cross-pollinating with electronics and minimalism, new age and drone. But even these currents have a history. We dove deep into our favorite space jazz of yesteryear, and put together a mixtape for your astral travelling pleasure . . .

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Kreag Caffey :: Kreag Caffey

Some rare private press tome this is not. Despite the at-times questionable atmosphere, obscurity, and ambiguity as to whether or not the record is actually worthwhile, Kreag Caffey’s self-titled debut made its way to shelves with a release on Decca in 1972, bolstered by a heavy-hitting ensemble of the finest studio players to ever do it . . .

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James Elkington and Nathan Salsburg :: Buffalo Stance

James Elkington and Nathan Salsburg transmute and transform Neneh Cherry's 1988 smash hit "Buffalo Stance" into an idyllic stroll through imaginary countrysides . . .

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Loving :: Any Light

After the amiable lo-fi debut If I Am Only My Thoughts, Loving makes a self-proclaimed "sonic leap" on sophomore stunner Any Light. Of course, this seamless transition to the studio is a credit to the Canadian duo's charmingly unwavering formula. With delayed vocals that don't kick in until nearly two minutes, the gentle acoustic strum of the title track sets the perfect tone for this remarkably intimate collection of songs . . .

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Alice Coltrane :: The Carnegie Hall Concert

Had The Carnegie Hall Concert been released in 1971 when it was originally commissioned and recorded by Impulse as a double live LP, it would undoubtedly rank among the all-time holy grails of live jazz, no, live music, period. But nothing happens before it’s time, and we are unbelievably fortunate to be graced with the revelation of Coltrane’s performance in the here and now. Left in the vault for decades and only partially bootlegged, The Carnegie Hall Concert documents Alice Coltrane cresting a creative peak which marked the end of a cycle of suffering and a rebirth . . .

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The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PDT, Channel 35)

Outré California. Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.

34.1090° N, 118.2334° W . . .

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Sathima Bea Benjamin :: Windsong

Her voice comes from far, far away. From Saint Helena, her grandmother’s home, a tiny island thousands of miles off West Africa, Napoleon’s grave. It comes from the Philippines, where her mother was born. It found a home in Cape Town, where she met her future husband, Abdullah Ibrahim, and became a foundational mother of one of the most vibrant jazz scenes in the world . . .

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Transmissions :: The Paranoid Style

This week we're welcoming Elizabeth Nelson of The Paranoid Style to the show for a conversation about music, writing, ZZ Top, and her new album, The Interrogator. Packed with pub rock charm, punk verve, and rootsy, wide-eyed songwriting, the album finds Nelson and her collaborators, including partner Timothy Bracy and Peter Holsapple of The dB's, cranking the amps in service of sharp, literary rock & roll. Sitting down with host Jason P. Woodbury, Nelson explores her dual roles as a writer and artist, details her unique and optimistic approach to posting on X (formerly Twitter), and generally indulges . . .

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Patti Smith Group / John Cale / Television :: The Palladium, New York City, December 31, 1976

As mentioned in a recent Aquarium Drunkard Book Club, some of the most entertaining parts of Thurston Moore’s Sonic Life memoir come during his teenage years, way before Sonic Youth was even a twinkle in his eye. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Fan? From the suburbs of Connecticut, Moore made countless trips into NYC to soak in the punk/CBGB/Max’s Kansas City worlds, catching shows by The Ramones, Suicide, the Dead Boys, Sid Vicious … and Patti Smith, of course. Thurston paints an evocative portrait of this New Year’s Eve blowout, which doubled as . . .

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Late Cold War Style in Songwriting: 1978-1984

As the Cold War cooled into something like an uneasy truce, songwriters like Warren Zevon, David Bowie, John Cale, Bob Dylan, and Steely Dan's Donald Fagen addressed world events and the cultural malaise of the period, constituting Late Cold War style in their vivid songs . . .

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Truckload Of Art: The Life and Work of Terry Allen

For more than fifty years, Terry Allen has navigated an artistic path that bears little resemblance to the flat straightaways of his Lubbock youth. There’s a good chance he’s your favorite artist’s favorite country singer, or your favorite country singer’s favorite artist. Enter Truckload Of Art: The Life and Work of Terry Allen, Brendan Greaves’ 500+ page epic released on Hachette Books on March 19th. We sat down with Greaves to discuss this exhilarating investigation of a life spent in the act of constant creation . . .

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Rosali :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Rosali joins us for a discussion about her fourth full-length, Bite Down. It's her best record yet and it embodies the healing power of art: “Music and songwriting have always been a spiritual healing practices for me. I think it’s trying to help people feel something, to have a connectedness in our humanity . . .

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