Mumakil & Linkin Park for NoiseCreep

Mumakil + Linkin Park = probably two of the most unexpected pairings of bands you'd think to see in a blog title, but in this case it's catch up for me and my recently postings. I really feel that Mumakil - the Swiss "blastcore" band that named themselves after the large elephant-like creatures in The Two Towers (so cool, I'm such a nerd) - lives up to its brutal declarations, and their live footage from Le Romandie further the point. As for Linkin Park, I'm going to bare all: I saw the second Transformers movie with a motley crew yesterday, and between writing about the video and then seeing the film - in which Jablonsky definitely borrows heavily from the LP single to compose the score during explosive peaks - the song has officially grown on me. It's definitely better than some of their singles from the past, despite how big it grew their nu-metal empire.

You can read the reviews, posted here:
Mumakil -- Video Footage From Le Romandie
Linkin Park 'New Divide' -- Video

Spinal Tap for NoiseCreep

Holy christ am I busy! While there are countless grammatical errors in that statement, it is wildly appropriate. The added stress of getting flu symptoms on Day 1 of my new full-time dayjob - one which is completely unrelated to music journalism and for the next three months - certainly didn't help, but to be posting about a piece that went up well over 2 days ago just seems so...late. Nevertheless, I'm happy to be writing more and more about the forthcoming Spinal Tap relaunch. The band is at it again and in such a meta-world it's nice to see some of the pioneers of entertaining, tongue-in-cheek genius give it another go.

You can read the review, posted here: Spinal Tap 'Back From The Dead' -- Full Album Stream

GAS @ Miller Theater for Resident Advisor

I've always appreciated ambient music, but my love always rested with IDM. In the earliest part of this decade, Autechre, Squarepusher, Jega and sometimes Funkstorung were in heavy rotation, and Chris Clark's Clarence Park is one of my all-time favorite albums. Ambient music is definitely a cerebral kind, with its most base use being to simply "chill out." Much like other genres, though, there are so many offerings to choose from...many of which suck. On the opposite end of the spectrum sits Wolfgang Voigt, who dominates the ambient realm with his GAS project from the turn of the last decade. I'm still so impressed by his performance at the Miller Theater, which was the closest I was able to get to Mutek this year.

You can read the review, posted here: GAS @ Miller Theater for Resident Advisor

Movement 2009 In Review for Resident Advisor

I've already mentioned several times here how Detroit was an incredibly enriching experience for me. In fact, I called it before I even went, but it was a bit of a give-in. Myself and a handful of other Resident Advisor contributors covered most of the festival, and I was lucky enough to be assigned all of my favorite highlights. I'm most thrilled that Monty Luke was pleased with the Mothership review, as he and everyone else from the San Francisco-based community conscious label had a blast that night. The other major point for me was Cassy, a female DJ who's come blasting through the doors and taken a seat at the table of my favorite DJs. I'd seen her before, but her set at House 'n Home at Oslo is the first thing I've been mentioning when people ask me what I liked the most. I can only hope that dubbing her "the Sophia Loren of DJs" goes viral and she gets properly appointed. Damian Lazarus wins Breakthrough Artist in my own personal awards ceremony, and I still watch YouTube videos of Adam Beyer's set on a regular basis. Viva la Beatport stage!

You can read the review, posted here: Movement 2009 in review

Incubus for NoiseCreep

"Pardon Me" is a great song. There's so much music from the late 90s that I'd rather forget, but this one stays afloat. You might not hear me cranking this from my car stereo at all times (lately, it's been the Cassy Resident Advisor podcast from way back), but it's a definitive piece that captures the mainstream progress of nu-metal moving away from aggro/anti-parent whining and towards a much wider audience. Brandon Boyd also impresses me very much - he can be a good lyricist and is a strong singer, visual/fine artist and author. It's difficult enough to be good in any of those fields, let alone three. I'm also looking forward to checking out this yet-to-be titled documentary because the clip of "Pardon Me's" history is told really well. Overall, I think this greatest hits collection has very good timing.

You can read the review, posted here: Incubus Set to Release 'Monuments and Melodies' and Documentary