A Frames / AFCGT Mega Post

Recently, I was looking back through the albums I've uploaded to various file sharing services. I was surprised to find that of all the submissions A Frames's 'Black Forest' has had the most downloads by far. Strange. Not that I feel they're undeserving in any way. I just never would have guessed.

So, in an effort to give the fans what they want, I am posting the first two A Frames albums plus the new AFCGT. I thought briefly about including all the Intelligence albums (drummer Lars Finberg's other band). However, they have somewhere around 7 full lengths. I'll get to those later.

Here you go:

Self Titled -

Released in 2002 on SS Records and the bands own Dragnet Records. There really aren't any significant differences between any of the A Frames albums. They all pretty much rule. Nothing but the best of modern dancy lo-fi post punk with a small twist of industrial. If you like one album, you'll like them all.

Dig.

2 -

Ever so slightly better production quality than the first record. Maybe a little bit more experimental. Same great song quality. Released in 2003 on SS Records.

Get it.

AFCGT -

Colaboration album between A Frames and Climax Golden Twins. These two bands have been rocking together a various times for a few years now. Everything they have released so far is self titled. The easiest record to find is their recent Sup Pop album. There are a few other CDRs and LPs floating around from small indie labels or self release. As far as I know, this is everything that exists from them.

The project allows the A Frames to stretch out and experiment with a wide variety of different styles/sounds. Long spaced out jams, abrasive discordant noise rock, psychedelic surf punk, heavy post punk. Sometimes all within the same song! Really lo-fi with a heavy Japrock influence. Especially Boredoms and Les Rallizes Denudes. The more I listen to them, the more I prefer it to the normal A Frames albums. Hear for yourself and turn it up:

Aquarious Records CDR(vinyl re-release on Uzu Audio)

Dirty Knob 10"

Live Recording (Self released)

Square Microphone Tapes (Self released)

Sub Pop LP

White Noise - An Electric Storm

Sorry for the recent lack of posts, fellow arctic pioneers. In the last few months I got married, moved into a new house and started a new job. I've been busy. I'd even been tossing around the idea of just ending the blog and focusing on other things. However, you'll be happy to know that I decided this was a dumb idea and will be attempting to bring you cool music at a more regular pace from now on.

In order to end this period of blog inactivity, I've got an amazing gem of early pysch electronic goodness for you. White Noise's 1969 debut 'An Electric Storm'. There's all kinds of crazy sounds going on in this record. Double basses sped up to sound like violins, first generation synths, orgasmic vocals (literally).

The band is still recording and touring off and on to this day. Look them up if you're ever in the UK. I'll try and get some of their later work up here sometime...

-PolarBear

Drop Out

Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Company - 1970-1973

MMPMC was the world's first Synthesizer group. They formed in 1968 and began recording around 1970. They released their debut self titled album in 1973. This is the expanded edition that includes some of the early recordings as well.

The members of Mother Mallard's took the project very seriously and created incredibly complex and challenging arrangements. Songs range from minimalist ambient to almost classical sounds.

-PolarBear

Load It Down

Curl Up And Die - 'Unfortunately We're Not Robots'

one of my favorite albums, from one of my very favorite bands. this was just the beginning of how these guys would push the genre. waaay under rated. trying listening to "rich hall" and not falling in love with this album.

DL

-shua

Ahleuchatistas - Discography

My new favorite Math Rock band. Ahleuchatistas have just as much chops as any other band in the genre. What makes them stand out to me is their Captain Beefheart inspired approach to songwriting and the slight lo-fi tone they have to all their music. The band formed in 2003 in Asheville, North Carolina. They have been quickly gaining a dedicated following all over the country. In 2008, John Zorn took notice of them and re-released their album 'The Same And The Other' and then released their latest 'Of The Body Prone' on his own Tzadic Records.

So far, everything I've heard from this group has been nothing but stellar. Hopefully they can keep it up. Highly recommended.

-PolarBear

On The Culture Industry (2003)

Download

The Same And The Other (2004)

Download

What You Will (2005)

Download

Even In The Midst... (2007)

Download

Of The Body Prone (2009)

Download

Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Press Color

Debut album from pioneering French musician, Lizzy Mercier Descloux. During a stay in the USA in 1975, Lizzy befriended musicians such as Richard Hell and Patti Smith. After being exposed to the early sounds of Punk Rock, she began writing songs. Lizzy combined French Pop influences with the minimalist funk of No Wave and released Press Color in 1978. The sounds on this album are all over the place. One track is a dancy full band pop song and the next is an awkward guitar and vocals punk song. Absolutely flawless.

-PolarBear

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Fushitsusha - The Wisdom Prepared

There are many great talents in the vast sea of alternative Japanese music. One of the most notable is Keiji Haino. An incredibly prolific musician, Haino has apeared on about 100 albums since 1970. He plays several different instruments but is most famous for his guitar playing and vocals. There is always a certain amount of mystery surrounding him. He almost always dresses completely in black, has long black hair and is never seen without his dark sunglasses. His look is directly inspired by JapRock pioneers, Les Rallizes Denudes.

Fushitsusha is his main project and was founded in 1978. Usually a duo or trio, Fushitsusha features a constantly changing line up of drums, bass, synthesizer and tape loops to back up Haino's incredibly loud and noisy impov guitar. Their shows are notoriously loud with Haino often playing through a minimum of four full stacks. The Wisdom Prepared is Fushitsusha's eighth studio album. It was released in 1998 and features one 75 minute track. This can only be fully appreciated by listening to it in it's entirety and at very high volumes.

-PolarBear

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About a Million - 'Since Now Till Then'

About a Million is songwriter Anothy Leitch doing a very DIY experimental approach to indie. Very creative writing and real catchy. This is my favorite new album. Check out the bands myspace for more album downloads.

Highlights: "Amputated Push-Ups", Acid Trips and Puffy Lips", Blizzard of '78"

9/10

Download

-Shua

AC4 - 'AC4'

AC4 is Denis and Dave of Refused, alongside Umea, Sweden locals Karl Backman and Jens Norden. Denis sings somewhere between Refused and T(i)NC and Sandstrom steps out from behind the kit to helm the bass. The result is a solid, straight forward hardcore punk album. Not as intense as when Denis and Dave were doing Final Exit, but still a lot of fun. Released June 2009.

Highlights: 'Where are the Kids'

'Fuck the Pigs'

'Let's Go to War'

DOWNLOAD

-SHUA

This Heat - Out Of Cold Storage

If only this band had kept going they could have been the greatest Post Punk band of all time. Unfortunately, after only a few years and two albums they broke up and have since joined the ranks of the criminally underrated and obscure. Out of Cold Storage is a collection of This Heat's two albums, Deceit and Health & Efficiency, as well as some assorted studio oddities. The collection's name is a reference to the abandoned meat locker dubbed "Cold Storage" where the band did all their writing and recording. This Heat can be compared to the great Post Punk bands such as Television, Pere Ubu, Cardiacs and Magazine. However, more so than any of their peers, This Heat took a more direct influence from Krautrock groups such as Can, Faust and Neu!. Swirling tape loops, chord repetition, and chanted vocals were often the defining feature of their songs.

Be sure to give this a few listens before passing any judgment. These songs can be a lot to digest all at once.

-PolarBear

Download

Magma - Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh

One of the earliest influences on Math Rock and pretty much all other forms of experimental music. Elements of their sound can be heard in bands such as Ruins & Hella. Magma was founded in Paris in 1969 and is one of the best examples of the Prog rock scene that was happening in France at the time. Drummer and band leader, Christian Vader, created his own language called Kobaian that was often used for Magma's lyrics. The most stand out feature of their music is the incredibly layered choral style vocals (aka Operacore). Check it out.

-PolarBear

Download

Big Butter - From The Udder...

Short lived and super underground(they don't even have a wikipedia page), this Clovis, California band only existed from about 1987-1990. However, in that time they created some awesome music. Very quirky and often not fitting into any specific genre, their songs share a lot of similarities with The Residents. At the same time, Big Butter is much more approachable and probably easier to understand. Check out the spoken word section of "Bearded Horses", hilarious.

-PolarBear

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Release The Bats: A Tribute To The Birthday Party

It's a safe bet that any band who likes The Birthday Party enough to cover one of their songs is going to be pretty cool. It's an even safer bet that an album full of bands covering The Birthday Party is going to be cool as hell.

-PolarBear

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