Chronotope Project - “Dawn Treader” CD

Lovely selection of exotic, diverse soundscapes

This is the first I’ve heard of Jeffrey Ericson Allen, whose Chronotope Project has been active for several years releasing evocative and often cinematic electronic music. “Dawn Treader”, inspired by the C.S. Lewis story, is an intensely visual and sometimes playful listening experience, with plenty of twists and turns. 

Opening with the percolating sequencer sounds of “Dawn Treader”, the music gives way to the languid and introspective track, “The Scent Of Evening Flowers”, which gradually works itself into a bleepy outer-space soundtrack. “Basho’s Journey” brings an Asian influence to the table, no doubt due to the prominent use of the traditionally-tuned 13-string Japanese koto. “Ocean Of Subtle Flames” is a spiritual journey, complete with light rhythms and flutes punctuating the otherwise fleeting ambient textures. “Canticle For The Stars” is a kind of space music/classical hybrid, with blippy synth sequences alongside electronic strings. “She Who Hears The Cries Of The World” brings it all together into a wonderful melange of exotic textures, fleeting melodies, and evocative world music-meets-ambient vibes. It’s a celebration of all things musical, artful, and worldly.

Spotted Peccary

Chronotope Project

Stone Roses - "Made Of Stone (director: Shane Meadows)” DVD

Doc on foppy Madchester fools

Manchester’s Stone Roses were partially responsible for one of the worst late 80s/early 90s music trends...the foppy, baggy-trousered “Madchester” scene that sadly tried to meld acid house club music with slackerly psychedelic rock. These guys inspired some even more insipid acts (anybody remember the atrocious Inspiral Carpets?), and even the notoriously  pompous Gallagher boys took the Roses’ self-congratulatory praises themselves all too seriously, and all the way to the bank with their vastly overrated Oasis. Any band who heralds themselves as "the best band in the world" or “better than the Beatles” deserves a swift kick in the nads, right?

The Stone Roses, however, despite becoming a huge (and hyped) act with the release of their 1st self-titled LP in 1989, could never quite rise above, with label and personal squabbling taking a fatal toll on the group as soon as fame and fortune raised their greedy heads.

This documentary traces an ill-fated 2012 reunion that brought the members together for some high profile gigs, only to see attitudes tear up the band again. Fans (anybody out there?) will be enlightened by this well done doc, but others unconvinced of the brilliance of the Stone Roses (me) will want to steer clear.

MVD Visual

Stone Roses site

Time Being - “A Place To Belong” CD

Lovely minimalist ambient

The second album from micro-ambient composers Phillip Wilkerson and Jourdan Laik begins with the icy digital drone tones of “The Wind Has Called”. “Every Memory” is a more ethereal trip into the clouds at daybreak, and “From Where We Are” brings a piano element alongside the fragile drones. If any album release were tailor-made for the wee hours, or for the waking dream state, this is it. Wilkerson and Laik’s gentle and unobtrusive ambiences are both soothing and narcotic.

“Farther Worlds” is an awakening of sorts, with big ominous bass drones amongst the shimmery tones. “Here Is Life” is more typically ambient, with a shifting juxtaposition of darker elements with lighter, lilting fields of cinematic sound, and the finale, “An Infinite Home”, reminds of a superb Eno piece, a seamless and refined statement in minimalist ambiance. 

A beautiful release of gentle and evocative sound.

Spotted Peccary

Time Beingbook

Phil Wilkerson wordpress

“In The House Of Flies” DVD (director: Gabriel Carrer)

Unfulfilling torture indie

This micro-indie abduction horror/thriller is notable mostly for the voice acting of one Henry Rollins, who performs as “The Voice” — an unseen abductor who traps a young couple and confines them to a dark basement while he performs cruel tricks and mind-games on them. The pacing here is very slow, and there’s a lot of forgettable scenes and dialogue that really don’t do much to help.

To their own credit, main stars Lindsay Smith and Ryan Koteck (the teen lovers faced with starvation and torture) are quite believable in their roles as victims. The claustrophobic setting is effective enough, but the film’s lack of action nor depth makes for a  pretty tedious movie overall. And although this comes close to an outright horror film, the lack of much real gore or viscera is a definite detractor, too. It’s like “In The House Of Flies” holds itself back from the level of a “Saw” or other torture horror films by going a cleaner, milder route. And it just doesn’t quite work.

Ultimately, “In The House Of Flies” is unfulfilling and forgettable, and with that, I can’t justifiably recommend it.

Parade Deck Films

“Rebel Scum” DVD (director: Video Rahim)

Dirty document of drunken derelicts...

Sometimes, documentaries are welcomed as intimate looks into celebrated artists, celebrities, events, or historical incidents. This is none of the above. “Rebel Scum” looks at Knoxville’s scuzz-punk band the Dirty Works, and particularly their damaged and recklessly self-destructive frontman, Christopher Scum. Now, I’ve been closely involved in underground music and transgressive art for 30 years, and I’d never heard of this band. Is this even a real documentary? Wild Eye Releasing have done some pretty awful films before…hmm.

Regardless, this purports itself to be a real documentary, so I’m reviewing it as such. The band here is pretty much an inept bunch of drunken rowdies, with an audience that numbers, well, maybe in the tens. Mr. Scum, though seemingly a pretty nice guy, has a serious and alarming problem with substance abuse. The film follows the band around, showing some of the most embarrassingly painful scenes — sloppy, slovenly, and sickeningly drunken and drugged.

Why anyone would like to see this is beyond me. There’s little to be said for watching a man and his friends slowly kill themselves. “Rebel Scum” shows a band who are not so much making music as making a desperate cry for help. I hope someone hears it.

Wild Eye Releasing

“Immoral Tales” Blu-Ray (Director: Walerian Borowczyk)

Notorious and scandalous sexcapades!

Probing sexual taboo and deliberately poking a big “middle finger” at contemporary mainstream morals and “values”, Borowczyk's infamous selection of erotica vignettes (released in 1974) is as raw and consciously inflammatory as can be, even 40 years later. “Immoral Tales” is a great deal of fun, and it’s more than obvious that Borowczyk wasn’t taking things too seriously beyond his provocative stance. This isn’t a snooty “art” film, nor is it simply pornography. It seems to inhabit a world stealthily in between.

The 5 stories contained within, though unrelated in any way but thematically, each delve into another facet of incendiary sexuality, from spiritual fellatio on a beach (beautiful in it’s own way) to explorations into lesbianism, bestiality, masturbation, incest, and beyond. There’s no taboo here, as Borowczyk’s slandering of Catholicism and “morality” is purely confrontational in every way. 

A celebration of decadent perversity and unashamed sexual liberty, with a liberal amount of nudity (furry beavers, boobs, and butts are the cameraman’s prime focus quite often), this film is a titillating enough experience on merely a surface level. There are plenty of flaws, from poor dialogue to some marginal set design to questionable acting, but “Immoral Tales” remains a landmark in confrontational cinema. Is it art or is it porn? You be the judge.

Arrow Films

Cider: WILDCIDE Hard Cider

A most excellent cider

As the cider market explodes in America, many craft breweries are getting in on the action, and that’s a good thing. More variety means more experimentation, and this new brew from Gordon Biersch (under their new Aurum Cider imprint) has something unique going for it. Using nature as it’s inspiration, WIldcide is flash-pasteurized, meaning there’s no sulfites added to preserve the product. This is a more natural cider without chemical additives. Ingredients? Apples. Period. How cool is that?

I was lucky enough to be able to taste this fine cider for you, dear readers, and here’s my review, done as I review any craft beer.

Appearance: Pours from the bottle a pale clear-yellow in color, with very little retention or lacing on my pint glass. I attribute the watery look to a lack of artificial coloring that may be present in some of the more mainstream ciders. Good on Wildcide.

Aroma: Fresh, juicy apples, pure and simple. Can’t argue with that.

Taste: Clean and smooth, and clearly more mellow than the competitors. This is a combination of 4 kinds of apples (Fuji, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, and Golden Delicious), and maybe that (along with the lack of harsh preservatives) makes this one so much cleaner and satisfying. The finish is dry and certainly not too sweet, either. Wildcide is all about balance, and for that I give this one high marks.

A premium cider that’s, in my eyes, a better cider in just about every way. Prost to Aurum Cider Co. and to Colin Baugh/Emblem for getting this cider to my belly!

Aurum Cider Co