Isolation: Day 3 - Seefeel Fracture

Caught this on Michael Stock's Part Time Punks on KXLU this past Thursday (there's a link via KXLU that archives the playlist for all Michael's shows HERE). Love it. Fracture is from the Fracture/Tied single on Warp Records. You can also find and support Seefeel through other releases available on their Bandcamp.

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Seven episodes into HBO's The Outsider, and it has a hold of me good. Fantastic show that very much scratches the itch left over from True Detective Season One.



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As more and more public events are cancelled, it was inevitable the upcoming Deafheaven tour got postponed. Mr. Brown pointed me HERE, where the band is selling what was supposed to be their tour merch, as well as taking pre-orders for the double live album that was supposed to be recorded over two nights in Chicago, but will now be recorded live in-studio. As the craziness increases, you're going to see a lot of messages from independent artists about helping to support them and/or others like them. Take this seriously. I've always considered myself a 'patron' of the arts, especially as we've moved into such a decentralized paradigm for creating and distributing said arts. Now with this, bands who would have made the bulk of their income touring - because even a band like Deafheaven isn't being supported by their label enough for its individual members to actually exist in the real world - are going to be effectively cut off at the knees. You can't support everyone, but please, support those you can.

Here's one of the older Deafheaven songs I'm hoping ends up on the double live, which titled 10 Years Gone, I'm assuming is a career-to-this-point retrospective:



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Playlist:

Human Impact - Eponymous
Seefeel - Fracture/Tied (Single)
Various Artists - The Void OST
Beach Slang - The Deadbeat Bang of Heartbreak City
Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
Deafheaven - Roads to Judah

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That's a bit disturbing in light of recent events. Or, I can interpret it as the hot streak I'm using all the media induced 'pandemic' paranoia to fuel re-writing something I will be releasing in a few months.

RIP Genesis P. Orridge

You timed it juuuuust right, sir.

Isolation: Day 1 - Human Impact This Dead Sea

The debut album by Human Impact dropped on Ipecac Records today. This one brings me back - there's a little Helmet, a little Quicksand, and an undercurrent of Industrial vibes that makes their sound mildly nostalgic while also cutting edge. Haven't heard anything like this in some time, and Chris Spencer's sweat-and-vitriol laced vocals feel pretty damn timely, while the world seems to curl in from around the edges, like an old photograph in a winter hearth.

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Nightmare fuel right here. Jesus, this looks insane, and the "bastard child of Ground Hog's Day and The Babadook" quote just seals the freakin' deal.


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Playlist:

Balthazar - Fever
Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars
The Birthday Party - Mutiny/The Bad Seed
Beth Gibbons/Henry Gorecki - Symphony No. 3
Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror
Eagulls - Eponymous
Emma Ruth Rundle - Marked for Death
Jaye Jayle - No Trail and Other Unholy Paths

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On this, the second time in three days I've pulled The Emperor, I'm reading on a more Macroscopic level. The Emperor is establishment, social order, social contract. Namely, all the things that feel like they are in jeopardy at the moment. I'm inclined to read this as a nod to the unwavering persistence of these systems we have set up - even though many of them are fucked up or in jeopardy in other ways - and that the current scare will subside without decimating our society. There's a host of conspiracy theories the Mulder in my brain keeps throwing at the back of my eyes, but I'm trying to acclimate to just believing everything will be, relatively, okay. Even if a lot is probably going to change by the end of the year.

JARV IS - House Music All Night Long

Apparently Jarvis Cocker is now JARV IS, and the new album Beyond the Pale is out May 1st on Rough Trade. Pre-Order HERE.

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NCBD was a huge one yesterday, simply because I picked up a handful of new titles I'd decided to add to my pull over at The Atomic Basement. The split that occurred between my Drinking w/ Comics co-host Mike and The Comic Bug co-owner Jun - both great guys - left me in a bit of a funk. The Bug is literally walking distance from my crib, and Jun is a friend of mine. So while I of course want to support Mike's new venture, I didn't want to do it at Jun's expense. Thus, I've added a handful of titles to my monthly pull and pretty much set an even balance at both stores. Here's what I grabbed at The Atomic Basement this week:

I'm reminded of Black Monday Murders, and hope that this undertaking isn't taking place instead of a continuation of that book. Regardless, insanely vast opening to what seems like it might be a small story in a massive world.

No idea where this is going, but it's as creepy as it is gorgeous.

I'm not sure how long these Joe Hill books are running, but so far, I'm really digging Daphne Byrne, so I figured I'd give Low Low Woods a chance as well.

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Two episodes into Alex Garland's new Hulu/FX series Devs and it's already established itself as a powerhouse; something that could totally change the Medium. AND - it's weekly, so it gives me some much-needed Event Viewing for the next few weeks, hopefully to get us right up to that next season of Joe Bob's Last Drive-In, although to my knowledge they haven't confirmed a date for that one's return.



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Devs put me in the mood for some more techy fiction, so I finally made it back around to Black Mirror and watched Black Museum. My favorite of the few episodes I've watched since Netflix brought this show back. Directed by Colm McCarthy, whose indie horror flick Outcast I wrote about here last year - and which I LOVED and is now on Prime so watch it! - Black Museum sets up something I would like to see return - Rolo Haynes' titular roadside attraction, the Black Museum. There are at least a couple dozen stories that could spin out of this, and Douglas Hodge's portrayal of Haynes was a sheer joy to watch, so hopefully this will recur at some point.




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Playlist:

Man Man - Beached (Single)
Fen - Dustwalker
The Thirsty Crows - Hangman's Noose
Ghosts of Glaciers - The Greatest Burden
The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium
Myrkur - M
Beth Gibbons/Henry Gorecki - Symphony No. 3
Neon Kross - Darkness Falls

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The positive break-up of structures and limitations.

New Music from Man Man!

From Man Man's forthcoming Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between, the band's first album since 2013's On Oni Pond. You can pre-order the new record from Sub Pop HERE.

As much as I love Man Man, they had completely fallen off my radar until, maybe two or three months ago, I went through a little jag with 2011's Life Fantastic. Then, a few days ago, Mr. Brown messaged me about the new record, and now I find myself quite anxious for May 1st and the first new record by the group in seven years.

What I did find while digging around in Apple Music, was that Man Man released an EP in 2019, two songs, both of which are fantastic, but one I adore. Here's that song, too:



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Having been in something of a funk the last week or so, I left work a skosh early yesterday with the desire to do nothing more than recharge by watching a couple flicks. I went with Benson and Moorehead's Resolution and The Endless, the second of which I'd watched before, October 2018, and not really liked. The links for my micro reviews on Letterbxd are linked to each title, suffice it to say, I loved Resolution, and it is now my opinion in order to fully appreciate the themes and situations of The Endless, you have to watch them one after the other. Not necessarily in one sitting, but it helps. Both are exceptional films - I'm really kind of staggered by the elegance of The Endless and its metaphors, and now I can't wait for the two creators' next film, Synchronic, which seems as though it should have already been released, and which I'm pretty sure will deal with Flower, the hallucinogenic plant people smoke in both films.

Normally, I'd post trailers, but I think any pre-knowledge will ultimately take away from both films, so I figured I'd use the awesome poster art and be done with it. Resolution is currently streaming on Prime, and The Endless is on Netflix.


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Playlist:

Man Man - Cloud Nein (pre-release single)
Man Man - Beached (Single)
Nick Lowe - Jesus of Cool
Neon Kross - Darkness Falls
Thundercat - Dragonball Durag (pre-release single)
Parliament - Mothership Connection

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Lots of red, with authoritarian overtones. Mars. Pretty sure this is a sign to pull myself up out of my funk and get back to work.

Chelsea Wolfe - Highway

Always a good day when there's a new Chelsea Wolfe video. One of my favorite artists insofar as how she puts imagery to her music; there's always a visual representation of the hollow loneliness that permeates her songs. Not sad loneliness, but the kind you feel when you're out in the desert, dwarfed by the environment around you, and isolated from other humans.

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Kindle had a Dark Horse comics sale yesterday (it may still be in effect), and for $6.99 I picked up the Alien/Predator/Prometheus Fire and Stone collection. I've heard great stuff about this series, so I'm psyched to jump in, as while I enjoyed by recent viewing of Alien: Covenant for what it is, I would have definitely preferred if they didn't kill all the Engineers off between movies. I've said it many times now, as much as I love Aliens, the films are frustrating for sure, and nothing is more frustrating then their propensity in killing the most interesting characters OFF SCREEN.

Also in that sale, I scored the first Masters of the Universe Mini Comics collection for $5.00. This is pure nostalgia, pleasure reading. These comics are literally primordial Shawn, as I had MotU figures from the time of their initial release, and the accompanying mini comics were among the first comics I ever read, and thus are at least partially responsible for my continued love of the medium.

Also, my Uncanny X-Men re-read continues at a steady pace; I'm now up to Inferno, but I'm going to back track first and re-read the 1984 Magik mini-series first, as events in that series set-up the story that eventually culimates during Inferno. Also, and I'm putting this in print finally, my all-time favorite X-villains are by far Mr. Sinister, S'ym, and N'astirh.

Unbeatable when drawn by my X-Men dream-team of Silvestri and Green.

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Playlist:

Orville Peck - Pony
The Jesus Lizard - Lash EP
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Luciferian Towers
... And You Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead - X: The Godless Void and Other Stories
The Jesus Lizard - Liar
Belong - October Language
Testament - The Gathering
Allagaeon - Apoptopsis
Spotlights - Love and Decay
Somnium Nox - Apocrypha EP
The Soft Moon - Deeper
U2 - War

Superblood Wolfmoon and The Invisible Man!

There are two singles out right now from Pearl Jam's forthcoming album Gigaton, which you can pre-order HERE. Both songs are fantastic, but I feel like "Dance of the Clairvoyants" is the one everyone's talking about because of the Talking Heads-vibe that song has. I wanted to post "Superblood Wolfmoon" because it's also fantastic!

Here's where I offer my take on Pearl Jam. I've always respected them. I've always thought they make the music they want to make, and that's amazing in the era they started in and transitioned through. However, previously, my love of their music went like this: All of their debut, Ten. Both songs on the Singles soundtrack. About half of the follow-up Vs. About a third of Vitalogy, and then I tuned out. After Ten their ballads - the stuff that, through no fault of their own, ruled the FM airwaves while I was in high school - all just sounded like audio burlap to me. Drab, scratchy, and uncomfortable. Yet I applauded them for years when friends who were into them would play me their records. I just never really heard any of that stuff, some weird bug in my ear always turned the noise of my brain up and drowned out what was coming in through my ear. I've always wanted something to come along and push me into taking a walk through that now back catalogue, and these two songs may have done just that.

Thanks to Mr. Brown for always forwarding me the newest stuff when he hears it, and for Keller for curating youtube sessions that made me realize just what an unbelievably good person Eddie Vedder is; if I dive back into Pearl Jam's music now, it's largely because of knowing that.

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K and I ventured out to the local theatre last night and saw Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man. Loved it! Awesome use and sustaining of tension; great atmosphere of fear and helplessness, made especially palpable by Elizabeth Moss' teeth-grinding performance. Really hits the notes on that sweet spot that exists between horror and psychological thrillers - think Pacific Heights and Jacob's Ladder as an example. Oh, and Whannell was not lying; to those who said the trailer gives away the entire movie, that is most definitely not the case.



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Playlist:

Spotlights - Love and Decay
Alice in Chains - Eponymous
The Jesus Lizard - Head
Pearl Jame - Gigaton (pre-release singles)
Pearl Jam - Vs

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I've been out of touch with my Craft for the last three days. Time to get back on that horse and ride.