Cemetry Tate

I have nothing to say about this review, I choose to observe a minute's silence to mourn the death of The Port Mahon.

GRAVEPAINTING/ ALEXANDER THOMAS/ EUHEDRAL/ DTV – Permanent Vacation, Port Mahon, 5/3/08

Tabletop improv often has the excitement of its vast range of sound options tempered by the inevitable gap between musical events that is dictated by the time taken to put one thing down and pick another up. Copious use of delay can mask this to a certain extent, but it still imposes a rhythm on the music that can result in predictability. DTV manages to avoid this pitfall, sampling himself bowing strings and bashing metal pipes to create a surprisingly dynamic soundscape that can rush from heavy static to something delicate that sounds like ivory raindrops falling into a tin bucket. This kind performance can be fascinating, but is rarely this exciting.

Euhedral isn’t in our dictionary, but logic dictates it should mean “having pleasing surfaces”. Pretty apt, when his miasma of reverbed voice, rubbed guitar strings and keyboard drones is agreeable, but doesn’t seem to boast much depth, in contrast with other Euhedral gigs we’ve witnessed. Euphonious but hardly euphoric. The final track shows what he can achieve, shoving sandpapery rasps about beneath a slow copter blade pulse to eerie effect.

Some people claim that making music from loop and effect pedals is too easy. Alexander Thomas counters this by only using theremin for his sound sources, which is one of the hardest instruments to play well (if a guitar with no frets sounds difficult, imagine one with no neck or strings either, and that’s how awkward a theremin is to control). Quickly bypassing the B Movie cliches of the instrument, Thomas builds up a sensual series of sonic constructions, that are alternately scouring and beautiful. Unbelievably his last number manages to somehow create crunchy beats from the theremin, and sounds like a lost Mu-Ziq classic. Plus he’s a dapper dresser; there’s too much scruffiness in alt music. All hail.

Gravepaintings have a tough act to follow, and initially their samples of choice – snake charmer reeds and tropical bird warbles – make them sound unpleasantly like a queasy update of World Trancers Loop Guru! Thankfully these elements soon get lost in a vast wave of trouser-flapping noise the likes of which we’re amazed the Port PA can handle. Physically powerful, then, but nothing here to stand out from other droneheads doing the rounds. Gravepaintings’ music may be about building to a climax, but they’re a bit of a squib at the end of a satisfying and eventful evening.

There's A Pnak To It

Over at www.oxfordbands.com there's a Punt review by some of the old OHM writers, and it's the first time we've worked together for about 5 years. Exciting stuff. Not for you, for us. A little. Briefly.

Anyway, here's a slight Nightshift review from a little over a year ago - seems like the other day. Also, policemen look young now, Wagon Wheels used to nbe much bigger and Tom Baker was the best Dr Who. Time for my nap...

ELAPSE-O/ PLEASE/ PNAK – Coo Coo Club & Permanent Vacation, The Bully, 6/12/07

We’ve often supposed that Autechre came up with their song titles when they were losing at Scrabble - “Of course it’s a word, it’s a track on our new album!” – and Pnak must have got their name from the same place. Names, however, seem unimportant when the first track consists of gloriously greasy electronic tones smeared over some sprightly drumming, and sounds like Fripp & Eno’s No Pussyfooting being played at the same time as Teach Yourself Afrobeat. A couple of vocal loops aside this sets the tone for the whole of Pnak’s deeply satisfying performance. The abstract tones that are generated from a single Casio keyboard are incredibly visceral and inventive, and even if the drums could do with being a little more decisive, the effect is a surefire winner.

The more pronounceable Please use two tremolo-heavy guitars and a pounding drumkit to make the sort of cross-eyed rockabilly you might get if The Blue Orchids tried to play The Shadows. We find ourselves deeply in favour of this, at least until one of them starts singing, and a random selection of squeaks, groans and burps gets in the way of what could be knockout instrumentals. Shut your mouth, boy, and you’ve got a hell of a band.

Local experimental favourites Elapse-O get rid of the drums, and play seriously fuzzed and reverbed guitar and bass over chugging pre-recorded rhythms, whilst the odd 50s ultra-slapback vocal makes an appearance. The formula is one part shoegazing hum to two parts Suicide’s plastic Elvis trundle, which ought to be a recipe for sonic success, but ends up dull, grey and rather annoying. Perhaps the slightly flat sound of a nearly empty Bully sucked some of the life from the set, but it doesn’t look as though they had much suckable life at the outset. This gig didn’t entice, excite or develop, it just elapsed.

Oh.