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New Releases For Sale/Distro Updates / Out Now: Private Anarchy - "Central Planning" LP

« on: August 06, 2019, 05:21:21 PM »

https://roundbalerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/central-planning

Second album in as many years of high-concept, low-budget loner "punk". A sound for hypochondriacs, Marxists, pursuers of beauty, the isolated. NOT FOR COWARDS AND DULLARDS.

From the label: "We are thrilled to be issuing the debut vinyl release from Private Anarchy, the solo art-punk project of Clay Kolbinger (Maths Balance Volumes, Termite Acropolis). His previous eponymous cassette on Round Bale Recordings found its way into Marc Masters’ Best Cassette Releases of 2017 list for his Hi-Bias column on Bandcamp where he wrote, “Coursing with wiry riffs, rattling beats, and deadpan singing, the debut tape by Private Anarchy (aka Madison, WI’s Clay Kolbinger) echoes the fiery racket of many post-punk forebears. In other words, you could say Private Anarchy sounds like the Fall, Swell Maps, and lots of bands who sound like those bands. But there’s something idiosyncratic about Kolbinger’s bent geometry that’s harder to pin down. It’s not so hard to feel its effects though: the 11 tracks here all carry the insular DIY genius that often inhabits basements, attics, and garages, with Kolbinger banging away as if music is his only source of heat.” On Central Planning, Kolbinger further expands upon this skewed framework, introducing a more elastic vocal approach and a more experimental edge to the production. But, the basic formula is still intact: you’ll hear rapid-fire minimalist punk songs that feature buoyant rhythms and dueling guitar parts performed with jittery exactness. It’s a DIY sound that begs to make its way out of the basement, and with this larger LP edition, we hope that you’ll invite a slice of Private Anarchy into your own life."

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New Releases For Sale/Distro Updates / Out now: PRIVATE ANARCHY s/t CS (WI "art" punk)

« on: September 05, 2017, 04:19:50 PM »

Listen/order here:

https://roundbalerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/private-anarchy

"When not capturing the sounds of everyday bric-a-brac for his tape collage duo Maths Balance Volumes or his solo project Termite Acropolis, Clay Kolbinger has been holed up in his Madison bunker for the past couple of years honing his personalized take on the rock idiom. Recording virtually every part on his own, Private Anarchy?s eponymous debut documents Kolbinger?s efforts in an 11-track, 25-minute blast of finely crafted, D.I.Y. art-punk precision that connects the dots of virtually every worthwhile sub-underground shakedown from Manchester to Madison of the past five decades. The release brings to mind The Fall in places with its cryptic lyrics and tautly rhythmic playing, and Swell Maps in others with its loose form and primitive experimentation. But, make no mistake; this is entirely Kolbinger?s contemporary loner vision devised outside of any pseudo social media posturing. It?s his Private Anarchy. And we don?t feel the least bit hyperbolic dubbing this a future D.I.Y. punk classic."

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Music Shit / Horrific Songs

« on: October 31, 2013, 07:17:11 AM »

In honor of Halloween (but also because I'm pretty into this sort of thing in general), I thought it would be interesting to attempt to identify some songs that are truly "horrific". They're few and far between in my experience, even though horrific imagery is the stock in trade of countless bands. I think that for a song to be truly horrific it should a) have lyrics that imply horror, but don't spell everything out and b) have some sort of abrupt change (a particular sound or tempo shift, for instance) that scares, surprises, or unsettles the listener. A pronounced narrative progression (lyrically & musically) is also helpful (& is present in all the examples I've listed below) but I suppose not completely necessary. A few that make the grade, in my opinion:

-The Fall: "Impression of J. Temperance", "Jawbone & the Air Rifle", "In the Park", "Hard Life in Country", and especially "Spectre vs. Rector". They understood horror better than any band I've yet encountered.

-Suicide: "Frankie Teardrop" (obvious but borderline example, as it's pretty explicit)

-Jan Dukes de Grey: "Mice and Rats in the Loft"

-Mad River: "The War Goes On". This, for me, is THE archetypal horrific song. A must-hear if you haven't; bear in mind that it's pretty long, and that you need to stick it out to the end to get the full effect.

Beyond the above I'm drawing a blank. I'd love it if someone could name some other songs that have a similar vibe. Or: what music is horrific to you, and why?