Posts

Bruce Brubaker :: Eno Piano

There have been various interpretations of Eno’s Music For Airports over the years — Psychic Temple’s beauteous rendition, Bang On A Can’s sweet version. Here, Bruce Brubaker strips the ambient masterpiece down to the studs in (mostly) solo piano form, alongside a few other similarly styled Eno tunes. And the whole thing is absolutely gorgeous. I could listen to that iconic Airports piano line (originally played by Robert Wyatt) for at least 24 hours, and in Brubaker’s hands, it is appropriately luminous and enchanting . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Jim Marlowe :: Mirror Green Rotor In Profile

Taking some time away from the aural revelation of Equipment Pointed Ankh, Louisville’s Jim Marlowe comes out swinging on his second solo record. Mirror Green Rotor in Profile is a groove machine that covers serious ground over the course of a mere 30 minutes. Following a long tradition of experimentalism, the artist flourishes the annals of the Avant-inclined with a series of astrally-tinged excursions in face-value beauty . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Butch Hornsby :: Don’t Take It Out On The Dog

Hailing from South Louisiana, by all accounts Butch Hornsby was one of those supremely talented performers who was incapable of getting out of his own way. Somehow that didn’t stop his sole lp, recorded in 1975 at Jackson, Mississippi’s storied Malaco Studios for ABC records with a crack team of friends and session musicians and later mixed at Allen Toussaint’s famed Sea-Saint Studios in New Orleans, from sounding like a million bucks . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Itasca :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Kayla Cohen’s Itasca has grown over the last decade or so from a solitary acoustic pursuit into a full-band enterprise where pensive art folk kicks up a country rock ruckus. Her latest, Imitation of War, was conceived in the isolation of COVID out in California's Yucca Valley but came to life in collaboration with long-time associates, Evan Backer on bass, Daniel Swire and Evan Burrows on drums, Robbie Cody producing and mixing.

“My past albums feel like growth experiences, but with this album I’ve gotten to a place where I still feel like it’s . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

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

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 . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Iasos :: Crystal Love

When I heard of Iasos’s ascendance, I threw on 1979’s excellent Crystal Love. Like most of his early cassettes, Crystal Love is comprised of two side-long slices of infinite bliss. Here are endless undulating harmonies of synthesizer and zither forever folding into one another like cirrus clouds. And the way Iasos turns his inimitable echo-laden lap steel into a celestial transmission. In its sheer otherworldly force, one can convince oneself that rather than pressing play on a track, you have simply tuned into a song that was always there . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Kahil El’Zabar’s Spirit Groove :: In My House

In case you missed it, last year we caught up with visionary percussionist Kahil El’Zabar on the heels of his latest effort, Spirit Gatherer: A Tribute to Don Cherry. Over the holiday break we turned our ears back to 2020, as in the midst of that most infamous year, El’Zabar released Spirit Groove, an eight track LP featuring saxophonist/composer David Murray. Self described as music "to move you nakedly with a deep sense of dance on a mind/body/spirit level," El’Zabar's sonic aim was to "rekindle the motion of social relevance within the legacy . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Shirley Hurt :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

A recurring narrative runs throughout Shirley Hurt. It’s a catalog of recollections, some are challenging and others provide bursts of exuberance. She joins us to discuss it . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

The Brights :: Oyster Rock!

Following a string of promising EPs going back four years, Oyster Rock! is the debut record from Australian five-piece The Brights. Hailing from the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, chiming guitars and infectious melodies make the record an impressive jangle-pop treasure. At times recalling the sounds and DIY aesthetic of the likes of The Clean and extended Flying Nun family, Oyster Rock! is conversely a decisively polished effort, letting the brisk songcraft and soft backing vocals flow . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Jarbas Mariz :: Transas Do Futuro

Jarbas Mariz was underground even in his ‘rediscovery’ as a Brazilian gem: when a first reissue of the 1977 7″ Transas do Futuro came out in 2012, it was in a limited edition of numbered copies. Now, Mr. Bongo shines a belated light on Mariz’s solo debut, a delight of lo-fi psych folk, mystic poetry, and free experiments with the musical traditions of Brazil’s Northeast . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Glue and Nails :: Elvis Costello & Marc Ribot on “Chewing Gum”

Though it's not among his best known songs, Elvis Costello's "Chewing Gum" features one of guitarist Marc Ribot's strangest and most captivating solos. Its creators reflect here . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Brigitte Fontaine :: Comme a la Radio

In the zone where idiosyncrasies collide, intuition is key. Everything is ripe for failure, but if navigated correctly even the most unsuspecting of unions can bear fruit. This happens to be the exact frontier explored by Brigitte Fontaine with Comme a la Radio. Notably, Fontaine is not subjected to the rigid and precise studio ensembles known to most chanson connoisseurs, but rather walks among free jazz titans—the Art Ensemble of Chicago. On top of this, Fontaine has teamed up with Areski Belkacem on this maiden voyage of a collaboration which endures to this day . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Further Cosmic Pedal Steel Situations :: Winter 2024

The cosmic pedal steel scene continues to expand — and we’re here for it. Daniel Lanois, one of the godfathers of this movement, once called the pedal steel “my little church in a suitcase.” And if anything ties these various musicians together, it’s a certain kind of earthy spirituality, an openness to the myriad possibilities that the instrument offers. Check out a few recent favorites, via the following roundup, featuring Gary Peters, Rich Hinman, Luke Schneider and Dave Easley . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Greg Foat & Ayo Salawu :: Interstellar Fantasy

Like his American counterpart John Carroll Kirby, Foat stands at the vanguard of what we might call pulp jazz, a sound comprised of softcore jazz-funk and B-movie library music grooves, heady prog interludes and new age zone-outs—but designed, above all, for pleasure. This isn’t the insurrectionary transcendentalism of spiritual jazz. It is erogenous music, intended to move human bodies. Here, Foat and Salawu take what might have been a paperback sci-fi goof and come up with an album of simmering come-ons. That they happen to be floating in space doesn’t make them . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Felbm :: Cycli Infini

One of the most unashamedly beautiful records out now; it is, at times, so gorgeous that it breaks your heart. cycli infini spirals in and out of genres—minimalism, gagaku, new age, ambient, jazz, fourth world—all while remaining completely intact. One pattern flows effortlessly out of the last and into whatever comes next. The adventure of the album is listening as forms decompose and are reconstituted. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that the album invites you to be attentive to its changes and indifferent to them at the same time . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.