REPERTOIRE: OK, I can’t deny I’ve been excited about this one for months. The new album from Shane Parish (Ahleuchatistas) named Repertoire comes out this Friday, May 10. It arrives courtesy of none other than Palilalia Records, which is owned and operated by Bill Orcutt (Harry Pussy). The album compiles 14 solo guitar arrangements by Parish of such classic and revered artists as Kraftwerk, John Cage, Charles Mingus, Alice Coltrane, Aphex Twin, Ornette Coleman and others. It opens with a contemplative version of Coleman’s “Lonely Woman,” and this really sets the mood for the entire listen. His fingerpicking on the Minutemen’s “Cohesion” is learned but fluid, much like the 1984 original. With Cage’s “Totem Ancestor” he maintains a tick-tock rhythm while sprinkling both lighter and heavier fare atop it. And what he does with Kraftwerk’s “Europe Endless” could cause someone unfamiliar with the tune to assume the German stalwarts are actually from Kentucky. Parish plays as if he has four hands sometimes, and each time this spins something revelatory happens. He’ll play a release show for this on May 23 at Hendershot’s, but you can get familiar with this starting this week. So head to palilalia.com, shaneparish.bandcamp.com, shaneparish.com and palilalia.bandcamp.com for all other information.
HOLIDAY ROAD: Tears For The Dying, Athens’ longest-running death rock band ever with over two decades of existence now under its belt, is heading out on tour this week with most dates being in support of Athens’ other band of dark lords Vision Video. The group heads to Detroit first, then roughly follows the East Coast back down to Georgia after hitting New York, Nashville and a few other places. In other news, group founder Adria Stembridge is now joined by Cody White on guitar, but they’re currently without a drummer, so the tour will progress with the band performing as a two-piece. For all other information, please see facebook.com/TearsForTheDying and visionvideoband.com.
GET LOW: Ancient art band Limbo District never had an album when it existed. It actually didn’t have much of anything for the consuming public to, you know, consume. But it also wasn’t around for very long, either, having played a final show in 1983 and barely existing for a full two years. As part of its continuing effort to bring Limbo District into the public eye and consciousness, Chunklet Industries will unleash the very limited edition (only 100 copies) of an album titled Live Limbo. This was pieced together from live recordings of the band, and edited and sequenced by Chunklet head Henry Owings and producer to the stars Jason NeSmith. Pre-orders are being accepted now for this, and its release date is scheduled for May 20. This will absolutely sell out, so jump on it now if you want one. Head to chunklet.bandcamp.com and lay your money down.
ONE WORLD: Steve Fitzpatrick (Radio:Tahiti, Sky City, et al) and his long-running project Unus Mundus will host what he’s billing as the first BM Fest, which stands for “beats and metal.” This happens Friday, May 31 at Ciné and the reason I’m telling you now is because advance tickets are already on sale. This event is a benefit for JOKERJOKERtv. Also on the bill that night are Bryant Perez, Powderkeg and Rat Babies. For advance tickets, please see athenscine.com/movie/beats-and-metal-festival.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?: Marcel Sletten (Primordial Void) has a fresh EP out now which is his third EP release, but far from his third overall. It’s titled Lamb, a name of which I cannot deny being a fan, and contains three tracks. The title track opens with a quickened heartbeat of a rhythm that quickly solidifies before some oscillations and only slightly lighter fare enter the picture. “Hebron” was originally released on the compilation Tracks for Palestine courtesy of Planetary Tracks. This is easily among the heaviest work Sletten has ever released and reaches deeply, with both hands even, into the depths of classic industrial music (i.e. late 1970s era) and succeeds admirably. The final track “Dove” is of the expansive ambient style that a lot of Sletten fans should already be familiar, but with a few beats like thunder right toward the track’s end. Find this at primordialvoid.bandcamp.com.
PRINCE AVENUE SLEIGH RIDE: Athens punk veterans Noise Mountain will release its new EP this Friday, May 10 and celebrate its release the next night, Saturday, May 11, at Normal Bar along with new Athens band Cactus Jackson and the always reliable Shehehe. The EP, titled A Good Year For Azaleas, comes out digitally and on vinyl and, if you get the physical record, the whole thing is on both sides. This is a tight collection of incredibly tuneful and aggressive songs that carry on the tradition of Hot Water Music, Lawrence Arms, Avail, et al. The first chords of opening song “Halfway House” foreshadow the central musical conceit of the next song “Baba” which makes solid use of musically referencing The Who’s “Baba O’Riley.” It’s really difficult to break this record apart and identify which tracks are better than others because the whole thing is so solid. That said, “Azaleas” raises its own bar with its opening chunky rhythm, but then seamlessly introduces guitars which sound like their own chorus. Even the goofily named “Satan Rules” kicks out the jams here. This was recorded, mixed and mastered by Kyle Spence (Harvey Milk). The release show will run you 10 bucks to get in or $20 for the show plus a copy of the record. Barring that, you can find this on pretty much all streaming platforms, and the record should be in local stores this week. For all other information, please see facebook.com/NoiseMountain.
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