Playlist Week of 2013-06-01

* Mozart: Night Music (English Concert/Manze) (Harmonia Mundi SACD)

* Beethoven: Complete Music For Piano and Violoncello (Schiff/Perényi) (ECM 2CD)

* Elvin Jones/Jimmy Garrison Sextet: Illumination! (Impulse! CD)

* Roy Haynes Quartet: Out Of The Afternoon (Impulse! CD)

* Mary Halvorson & Hubert Bergmann: MixTour (Mudoks CD)

* The Philly Sound: Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff & The Story of Brotherly Love (Epic/Legacy 3CD)

* The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (mono) (Apple/EMI CD)

* The Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour (mono) (Apple/EMI CD)

* Grateful Dead: Wembley Empire Pool, London, England 5/7/72 (selections) (GDP/Rhino 3HDCD)

* Grateful Dead: Wembley Empire Pool, London, England 5/8/72 (selections) (GDP/Rhino 3HDCD)

* Grateful Dead: Dave’s Picks Vol.1: Richmond, VA 5/25/77 (selections) (GDP/Rhino 3HDCD)

* Jerry Garcia Band: Garcia Live Vol.1: Capitol Theatre March 1^st, 1980 (Round 3HDCD)

* Love: Forever Changes (Elektra/Rhino LP+7”)

* Love: Black Beauty (High Moon LP)

* Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath (Warner Bros./Rhino LP)

* Camel: Camel (MCA/EMI CD)†

* Camel: Mirage (Deram/EMI CD)

* Phil Collins: No Jacket Required (Atlantic/Audio Fidelity CD)

* Phil Collins: …But Seriously (Atlantic/Audio Fidelity CD)

* Michael O’Meara: Chronology (Micheal O’Meara 2CD)

* Wilco: The Whole Love (dBpm 2LP)

* Kyuss: Welcome To Sky Valley (Elektra CD)†/‡

* Steven Wilson: The Raven That Refused To Sing (KScope BD)

* High On Fire: Death Is This Communion (Relapse CD/DVD)

* High On Fire: Snakes For The Divine (E1 CD)

* High On Fire: De Vermis Mysteriis (E1 CD)

* Converge: All We Love We Leave Behind (Epitaph MP3)†

* Clutch: Earth Rocker (Weathermaker  LP)

* YOB: The Illusion Of Motion (Metal Blade CD)†

* YOB: Atma (Profound Lore/20-Buck Spin 2LP)

* Mastodon: Remission (Relapse 2LP)

* Mastodon: Leviathan (Relapse LP)

* Mastodon: Blood Mountain (Reprise 2-45RPM LP)†

* Mastodon: Crack The Skye (Reprise 2-45RPM LP)†

* Mastodon: The Hunter (Reprise 2-45RPM LP)†

* Baroness: Yellow & Green (Relapse 2LP)

* Blut Aus Nord: 777 – Sect(s) (Debemur Morti Productions CD)†

* Blut Aus Nord: 777 – Desanctification (Debemur Morti Productions CD)†

* Blut Aus Nord: 777 – Cosmosophy (Debemur Morti Productions CD)†

* Kylesa: To Walk A Middle Course (Alternative Tentacles LP)

* Kylesa: Time Will Fuse Its Worth (Alternative Tentacles LP)

* Kylesa: From The Vaults Vol.1 (Season of Mist/Relapse 2-45RPM LP)

* Kylesa: Ultraviolet (Season of Mist/Relapse LP)

* Pelican: Pelican (Hydra Head CDEP)

* Pelican: Australasia (Hydra Head 2-45RPM LP)

* Pelican: The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw (Hydra Head CD)

* Pelican: City Of Echoes (Hydra Head CD)

* Pelican: “March Into The Sea” (Hydra Head EP)

* Pelican: What We All Come to Need (Southern Lord 2LP)

* Pelican: Ataraxia/Taraxis (Southern Lord EP)

* The Sword: Age Of Winters (Kemado CD)†

* The Sword: Gods Of The Earth (Kemado CD)†

* The Sword: Warp Riders (Kemado LP)

* Kadavar: Abra Kadavar (Metal Blade LP)

†=iPod

‡=car

Commentary:

Over the course of my ongoing metal fixation, I have tried to get into Kylesa—but their music just never clicked for me. I liked it well enough but nothing struck me as particularly memorable. I picked up the recent vinyl reissues of To Walk a Middle Course (2005) and Time Will Fuse Its Worth (2006), listened to ‘em a couple of times and filed them away. But after streaming a couple of tracks from their new album, Ultraviolet, I could tell that they had evolved in interesting ways in the intervening years. I grabbed a copy at my favorite local record store and it’s been playing pretty much non-stop ever since.             

Still firmly rooted in the punk-infused sludge of their earlier albums, Kylesa has considerably broadened their sound, expanding Laura Pleasants’s role as a vocalist and allowing her to sing actual melodies rather than just shriek and scream. Similarly, the instrumental palette is greatly expanded to include elements of ambient techno, 80s synthpop, ‘90s shoegaze and the choogling, blues-drenched sounds of classic rock—sometimes all in the same song. Rather than sounding schizophrenic or forced, this still sounds like Kylesa. It is the sound of a band that has finally found its true voice.

Side one opens with “Exhale” and it’s just as you would expect with its intensely pogoing beats and Philip Cope’s shouted vocals – but then Pleasants enters with a simple, plaintive four-note melody that leavens the gloom and lifts the music. A trippy instrumental section leads to yet another churning groove before ending all too soon. Variations on this process are repeated throughout the album and my only complaint is the shortness of the some of the tracks. I wish some of these ideas could have been expanded, leaving me feeling like the songs are somehow “unfinished.”

But maybe that’s just me, selfishly wanting them to go all-out prog or something. One thing is for sure: this “over before you know it” quality makes me want to listen to the record again and again, each time hearing something new, the whole of the album gradually coming into view. While displaying neither jaw-dropping chops nor hyper-complicated songwriting, Kylesa creates singular moods and atmospheres, with wildly creative use of guitar effects and the layered thunder of two drummers. That there is more “clean” singing than ever will no doubt piss-off some of their fan base but I think it makes their music more listenable—and memorable—than ever. The textures may be more variegated but Ultraviolet is no less heavy than any other Kylesa record.

One thing I love about the metal scene is that the bands that last tend to evolve. Kylesa may have started out as just another loose amalgamation of stoner metal-heads—yet, after years of perseverance, they have created their masterpiece. Ultraviolet is not just Kylesa's best record, it is easily one of the best albums of 2013 (so far). Long live rock!

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SHAMELESS PLUG DEPT.

Like records? While not metal, Rodger Coleman & Sam Byrd: "Indeterminate (Improvisations for Piano and Drums)" kicks serious ass. You can stream it at nuvoidjazz.com, download it at iTunes and elsewhere. Or, click below to order the deluxe CD for a mere $10.99. Thank you for your interest and support!