Music Review and Seizure Experiment a-LIVE in April 2017

In April 2017, the Seizure Experiment [Sundays 10p-12mid on WCBN] will bring you at least two bands: BUBAK [Ypsilanti] and the Frick Boys. 

BUBAK is a stoner/doom metal duo from Ypsilanti featuring Jeff West on Bass and vocals along with drummer Justin O'Neill. The Frick Boys are a mysterious local act yet to reveal their musics, nor their intentions. 

BUBAK will play live on WCBN on April 23, Frick Boys on April 16. 

Additionally, if you are in Hamtramck this Friday March 31st, you can catch BUBAK live at Trixie's !! Looks like they have a new 4-song EP which you can choose to purchase at the show, check it out:

1. Bio-Grey'd

2. Hang 'em Higher

3. Space Weed

4. The Fall

This is a limited release so get them while they last! The band is selling the CDs at their shows, not yet available in stores.

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In addition to hosting the Seizure Experiment and "engineering" the public affairs program "Grey Matters," I also review music for station WCBN FM Ann Arbor. I am one of many volunteers who keep this thing going. 

Below are the reviews from over the past two weeks. Feel free to comment with questions or additions! Happy Listening :) DJ-WHO-CANNOT-BE-NAMED

Meatbodies "Alice"
In the Red Records 2017
No FCCs

1. The Burning Fields [Abrupt end leading into track 2]
2. Kings
3. Alice
4. Creature Feautre
5. Disciples
6. Scavenger
7. Touchless
8. Count Your Fears
9. Haunted History
10. Gyre
11. Fools Fold Their Hands (Grievous Evils Under The Sun)

Second album for Chad Ubovich [FUZZ] and band. The album is framed as a "self-critical epic." Lyrics and songs do not tell the story from A to Z, but instead provide brief fuzz pop psychedelic excursions into the story. The Psych/Garage soup provided by Meatbodies on "Alice" is heavy on reverb and delay. Nothing groundbraking here, but some good heavy pop - D.W.C.B.N.

UNION ANALOGTRONICS X BLU "Cheetah in the City" 

Fat Beats Records 2016; FCCs in Bold

1.  LA Counting

2.  Whatever "Shit"

3.  Weekends

4.  Sleepin' interlude: patchwork of keys and lyrics

5.  Working' [Featring Joro] "fuck" and others

6.  Sunny

7.  French Kiss [Featuring Chat]; fade but ends abruptly

8.  One Two

9.  Don't Trip [Featuring Dam Funk]

10. Lynx

11. City Dreams [Featuring Oliver DaySoul]
12. Cheetah
13. [Bonus]The Factory [Featuring Erik Riko]

The box wave bass beat on the opening track of this record is not indicative of the rhythm section sounds from UA X Blu. Blu is a rapper raised in San Pedro, CA whose interests vary from people making "paper" to stories from a childhood in the ghetto. The sounds and beats from Union Analogtronics [from Paris, FRA] range from techno box waves to rhodes piano jazz fusion segues. The sounds are dense, layered and at times psychedelicized. UA seems to be fond of fuzzy box wave bass sounds. The combo of these artists provides great freeform radio material.  

Those Who Walk Away "The Infected Mass" Constellation Records 2017

No FCCs

1 Before the Beginning
2 First Degraded Hymn
3 First Partially Recollected Conversation
4 Second Degraded Hymn
5 Second Partially Recollected Conversation
6 Third Degraded Hymn
7 After the End

Winnipeg composer Matthew Patton presents a minimalist ambient concept album conflating the buildup to an airplane crash with internal human body functions. The mix includes choir voices, string quartet and sampled sounds including human blood flow, breathing and airplan cockpit sounds. You can take any piece out of context for your free form. This is also worth a listen from beginning to end - D.W.C.B.N.

Revolutionary Snake Ensemble

"I Want That Sound" Innova Recordings 2016; No FCCs

1.  Slippery When Wet

2.  Discoveries

3.  Higgins Hollow

4.  Nature

5.  I Want That Sound!

6.  Just Walk Closer

7.  Roohane

8.  John's Jailhouse Blues

A Boston area band jamming since 1990, the sound RSE brings New Orleans brass bad jazz together with funk jams and plenty of space for players to solo. There is also space here for experimentation and fun. The sound is definitely celebratory. Listening to this I could sense the collective joy of the players coming out of the songs and their solos. This would go well in any free form show in addition to "What it is" - a great way to get the party started! D.W.C.B.N.

Nnamdi Ogbonnaya "DROOL" Father/Daughter/Sooper Records 2017; Songs with FCCs in bold

1.    Cindy OsO Ft. mOrimOtO

2.    nO drOOl
3.    HWT//nO nEeD
4.    hOp Off
5.    dOn't turn me Off Ft. JD AKA   

       ThrashKitten & Mal Devisa
6.    drOOl//drink that Prod. By Liz 
7.    hOney On the lOw Ft. mOlly MallOy
8.    let gO Of my egO
9.    sHOULD hAvE kNOwN
10.  Think That Way Ft. Julia Steiner
11.  N0TICE
12.  Me 4 Me
13.  iVyTRA

Multi-instrumentalist Nnamdi Ogbonnaya from Chicago, IL with another in his long line of solo musics. His lyrical style is casual in delivery and at times awkward. The songs often feature soulful refrains in between extended raps. Wait a minute, is that a theremin? The sounds are soulful and quirky here. "You could never write shit like this!" I would say that any of it can fit nicely into any free form show, however his potty mouth prevents that with the exception of tracks 7 and 13 - D.W.C.B.N.

Debris of Titan "ASTRON: The Fallen" 

Self-Released 2017; FCC ON 10

1.  {Enter} - Astra [Genesis]

2.  Bridge to the Meadows

3.  Waves of Oblivion

4.  Ride On

5.  The Fallen

6.  Come My Way

7.  Night Walker

8.  {Run} - Astra

9.  Wonderland

10. Moonlight Shadow

11. The Lost and Damned

12. {Depart} - Astra [Lysis]

Dreamy Psyche-Pop from this duo with their second full length album, a loose concept offering featuring greek mythological character Astra/ Astron? who doesn't follow the rules of order and is now down on earth dancing around in the, wait for it.... Debris of Titan. It's funny to me that the band lists Tame Impala and Pink Floyd as influences on its facebook page. That is certainly evident, along with all the shoegaze bands from the 1990s. The most obvious influence left out: Deerhunter and or anything by Bradford Cox [the vocal textures are pure BC bliss]. This observation is not a dig on them, I thoroughly enjoyed this record. Even though ASTRON is a concept album, each song stands well on its own. Enjoy! D.W.C.B.N.

#RESIST #MICHIGAN #CorporateDems #USA

Daily Pratt for March 21, 2017

"Back in the 20th century, I learned one must never assume meaning from peoples' rhetoric and poetics. But, here we are anyway, or, at least here I am..."

QUESTIONS FROM MARK WENZEL:

[ ] Is it important to get their sense of how the presence of weapons and SWAT tanks and combat gear actually might escalate a situation rather than de-escalate?

[ ] Do police feel that they’re being used by the elite to protect them (the elite) from those who strive to bring more and more justice to their lives?

[ ] Do police believe they have moral obligations to obey unjust laws & what would be an example of an unjust law to them?

[ ] The role of the ‘war on drugs’ and ‘homeland security’ on making the police more dangerous to their community

[ ] The cardinal values police seek to bring to the building of moral communities -vs- the actual practices

[ ] What do they think of the work which claims to show that the KKK has been infiltrating police departments since forever?

FORTHCOMING FROM SEIZE YOUR LEISURE:

"Washtenaw Metro Special Weapons and Tactics [SWAT] HISTORY and PRACTICE"

#RESIST #MICHIGAN #CorporateDems #USA 

RACE ROUNDTABLE FORUM LIVE ON WCBN TONIGHT 7PM, SEIZURE EXPERIMENT AT 10PM

Tonight WCBN will be broadcasting a live roundtable forum on race facilitated by WCBN DJ/ UM Student Jason Young and featuring UM student activists Lakyrra Magee, Leah Schneck and UM LEO Lecturer Ian Robinson. Tune in to learn about the circumstances on-the-ground regarding race and inequality with some ideas about how to work together and improve the cultural climate on the UM campus, in Ann Arbor and beyond. 

Tune in by dialing 88.3 FM on your toaster in Ann Arbor OR click HERE to listen online anywhere in the world. This broadcast will begin at 7pm EST.

[REMEMBER: we "sprung" forward so adjust your clock if you haven't yet already!]

After that, you may as well stay tuned because starting at 10pm sharp I'll have full control of the WCBN broadcast signal for another edition of The Seizure Experiment. I have a lot of new [to me] music including, but not limited to: Wormrot [Singapore Grindcore], Tsjuder [Norwegian Black Metal], Magrudergrind, Shitstorm and several more selections with special freeform segues and soundbites that will be sure to delight your ears and distill your anger and frustration with the human condition in these united states. 

The Seizure Experiment is a 2-hour foray into Thrash, Hardcore, Grind, Metal of all varieties and Noise curated and populated by a rotating set of hosts: Rev. Bomb Back, Minister and Administer of Noise, Kristin [of TIGHT PANTS], Marie, Chayne and yours truly DJ-WHO-CANNOT-BE-NAMED. 

COMING SOON to the SEIZURE EXPERIMENT: a live, in studio performance by Ypsilanti two-piece stoner/doom metal act BUBAK in April 2017 on a Sunday night yet-to-be-determined!!!! 

Thanks again to all who support WCBN by donating, sharing, listening and contributing content: WE LOVE YOU 

Music Review For March 2017 & A Preview of Upcoming News Articles on Seize Your Leisure

In the next few weeks, I'll be posting news articles on the topice of Washtenaw Metro SWAT and also about the current digital platforms of Ann Arbor City Government and ways to improve timely information access so that residents can easily participate in Ann Arbor government bodies without having to submit FOIAs for information we should already have at-the-ready. Stay tuned for that 

In the meantime, let's revel in the new musics I had the privilege to review for the weekly music review sessions at WCBN-FM Ann Arbor. These review sessions, by the way, take place most Monday's [except during some student breaks] at 630pm in the WCBN lobby, which is located in the basement of the Student Activities Building on the Campus of the University of Michigan. It is through these types of volunteer activities that we remain on-the-air without paid staff, but with the latest music for our loyal listeners.

     WCBN is a student-run radio station licensed to the Regents of the University of 
       Michigan broadcasting at 200 mighty watts on your radio dial at 88.3 MHz in Ann Arbor. 
       You can also stream our signal over the internet by clicking http://www.wcbn.org/listen

The Luyas “Human Voicing”

Paper Bag Records 2017

NO FCCs

Fourth album for this Montreal pop quintet. The song structures are somewhat loose for pop but are held together by the drummer, who leaves plenty of space for the other players who shift between guitar, keyboards, French Horn, pedal steel and violin to experiment and push the envelope of pop song structures. 

Lyrically, Jessie Stein uses abstract imagery to describe the struggle of artists to make sense and to make “cents” [e.g. “Self-Unemployed”]. I wouldn’t call her delivery monotone, but rather “uni-tone.” The singularity in pitch and timbre of her voice and the backups stand in stark contrast to the imaginative and, at-times, improvised song arrangements. Not-to-be-missed, I thoroughly enjoyed this album from start to finish. Favorite tracks: 2, 4, 6, 7 

1. Dream In Time

2. Self-Unemployed

3. Dream Of Love 

4. Beating Bowser

5. All Of Everything 

6. No Domination

7. Fed To The Lions

8. Never Before

Here is a live version of "Self-Unemployed" from a recent online live session in which The Luyas were involved.

Allan Rayman “Roadhouse 01”

Communion Records 2017

NO FCCs

Toronto native Allan Rayman submits a second full length album, recorded and produced in Brooklyn, but likely written in an isolated cabin in Lost Springs, Wyoming, where Rayman currently resides. 

There is not much else known about Allan and according to a recent interview in Billboard Mag, he prefers to keep it that way. The songs on this record are well-thought out compositions, but flow like they were written on-the-spot. There are cryptic images, but the sounds convey a forlorn soul. There is also no format here. This album is classified as “funk/soul” but the songwriting has elements of country [esp. lyrics], pop/rock and hip hop. Play anytime, a great freeform record. 

1. Wolf

2. December

3. Sweetheart

4. Repeat

5. Shelby Moves

6. Jim’s Story

7. Left Alone

8. Faust Road

9. Hollywood/ My Way

10. Head Over Heels

11. 25.22

12. 13

13. God is a Woman

Here are a couple of samples from Roadhouse 01 showing the breadth of styles Rayman employs in his sound:

CCCRRCCSSLLRRKKRRSSS S/T

MEGAKUT CDS 2017

NO FCCs

ALL CAPS, NOT BECAUSE I AM YELLING, BUT INSTEAD FOLLOWING THE FORM OF THIS RECORD. THE NAME OF THIS BAND IS PRONOUNCED [SIRKUS-LURKERS] AND KEEPING WITH THAT THEME, THEY PROVIDE US WITH A CARNIVAL OF SOUNDS FROM THE FIRST OF THEIR 6 RECORDING SESSIONS. THE SESSIONS ARE AN UNREHEARSED PATCHWORK OF ELECTRO-NOISE AND MUSIQUE CONCRÈTE [NO, THAT IS *NOT* A REFERENCE TO STEPHEN MALKMUS AND PAVEMENT, STEPCHILD, LOOK IT UP :-)] 

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS RECORDING AND ITS ARTWORK. PICK ANY TRACK AND GO!

1. GAWNG STYLE

2. MIRAGE GARAGE

3. ACT LIKE YOU KNOW

4. GAFFLER

5. SECTAUR

Here is a link to the bandcamp stream for "Act Like You Know"

Zeal and Ardor “Devil is Fine”

MVKA Music 2017

NO FCCs

One of the more intriguing set of musics I had to review for this week, Zeal and Ardor describes their sound as Gospel/Black Metal. The sound is not a fusion of these forms, but instead they are strung together like red, white and blue christmas tree lights along a plantation road. 

Swiss-American, Manuel Gagneux, sings his version of gospel songs to Satan instead of the Christian god often revered in the gospel form. This is a conceptual album in which the songs flow from one to the next making it difficult to separate and play any individual track out-of-context.

Elements of Gospel, Metal, Delta Blues and even Electronic Dance Music [EDM] will connect with your ears when listening to this record. The Sacrilegium series and Children’s Summons are particularly creepy [which means “highly enjoyable” to me :)] Have a blast with this one. Even though I say it is difficult to play tracks out of context, I would play any of these in a free form radio set. Enjoy!

1. Devil is Fine

2. In Ashes

3. Sacrilegium I

4. Come On Down

5. Children’s Summon

6. Sacrilegium II

7. Blood on the River

8. What a Killer Like You Gonna Do Here?

8. Sacrilegium III

This album blew me away so I am including several tracks that show you why :)