New Music: Trans Am, Secret Mommy, Xela

Trans Am - 4,738 Regrets (Thrill Jockey 2007)

Trans Am – Sex Change / Thrill Jockey

The other day while working in my cubicle, a Chromeo track came two-stepping through my speakers which never fails to send me into a head bouncing fit of giggles at it's sheer awesomeness. My adjacent co-worker though was immensely confused by my devotion to a sound so heartedly 80s cheese, a decade I have proclaimed my disgust for time and again to the entire office. I attempted to explain my position that Chromeo jumps beyond both ripping off and parodying the cheesy 80s electro-funk genre by embracing it whole-heartedly and working within it's parameters to embellish all the wonderfully fun qualities and create something completely new and irresistible. In return I got a bunch of confused expressions and a hushed "riiiiiight." Whatever. Anyways, Trans Am was one of the mid-90s acts that perfected this technique with their embracement of epic rock music in the late-70s and 80s, and later into new wave, krautrock and all things that utilized bright synthesizers and vocoders. This style garnished the DC trio with a good amount of praise through the 90s, but as their discography grew longer, they almost seemed to begin parodying themselves and the irony became mediocrity and predictability. I think this is something that not only the fans and critics realized but the band as well as they opted for a two-year hiatus after 2004's scrutinized Liberation. The members split for different ends of the globe and didn't meet up again until June of 2006 when the descended on a recording school in Aukland, New Zealand with no musical equipment but a strong desire to start writing again. They spent two months utilizing borrowed, vintage equipment and recording with a professor and his students at the MAINZ studio before taking their material to Oneida's Okropolis studio in Brooklyn to wrap up recording. Again, they left their usual instrumentation at home and sought out a fresh sound by playing with borrowed equipment. Before leaving this topic, another method they used to keep from falling into typical territory was manipulating Eno's heralded "Oblique Strategies" method into their own "Obscene Strategies." When faced with a recording roadblock, Eno would draw a card from a self-made deck of suggestions and utilize the infusion of randomness to humanize the sound. Trans Am followed on the same tip, but their deck was a bit more out there; for example, Eno would have: "Take something perfect and make it more human." Trans Am has: "Rip off black musicians." The results of their labor is not necessarily a new beginning for the band, but a refreshing breathe of infectious instrumental rock that reminds us of why we loved Trans Am in the first place. The album, clocking in at a concise 40 minutes (concise being obviously used in comparison to Trans Am's typical epicness), features a collection of sharp, rhythmic rock songs utilizing the best qualities of the band rather than shooting straight for over-the-top. While it's hard to tear myself away from the synth-riddled bounce of tracks like "Obscene Strategies," the most intriguing songs are more on the mellow side including the iridescent guitar-pop of "4,738 Regrets" or album opener "First Words" which sounds like a combination of New Order and the Kenya/DC outfit Extra Golden. To not leave old fans completely out of the loop, tracks like "Conspiracy of the Gods," "Shining Path" and "Triangular Pyramid" all feature some monstrous riffage. Though Sex Change is all new music, you could almost think of it as a greatest hits like album with the way it looks back to all of the bands most shining moments. My good friend once commented that every time he came back to his guitar after a few-month-hiatus, he felt that he was playing much stronger and more naturally than before. It sounds like stepping away from recording for a period had the very same effect on Trans Am.






Secret Mommy - Diciduism (Ache 2007)

Secret Mommy – Plays / Ache

Every music lover tends to connect with at least a couple labels they come to trust unquestioningly. For example, if you pay attention to my radio show playlists at all, you can easily pick out an unhealthy Thrill Jockey addiction, but what may not be quite as visible is my relationship with Vancouver’s Ache Records. Andy Dixon’s imprint hooked me from ACHE001, a title held by Hot Hot Heat’s debut 7” whose garage pop anthems were just what I was craving way back in 1999. Since that point, the Ache logo meant two things to me, unrestrained creative music and colorful, splattering artwork. Throughout the years they’ve introduced us to the fist-pumping trashed garage of Death From Above 1979, the stuttering avant-rock of Flossin, the percussive brilliance of Konono Nº1 and most recently the skittering sugar high of Jab Mica Och El and the clever indie-pop of The Winks (and we’re not even getting into the excellent Div/orce 7” series which includes one of my favorite splits ever between Four Tet and Hella). Strangely enough though, the one Ache artist I’ve never really explored is Dixon himself who is a member of The Red Light Sting, d.b.s., and Winning as well as recording under The Epidemic and, to put a climactic conclusion to my rambling and way too long introduction, Secret Mommy. I have no idea why I’ve never listened to Secret Mommy, but after hearing his latest, Plays, I’m pretty pissed at my oversight. A far cry from the punk and hardcore scene Dixon grew up in; this music of this moniker is decisively filed in the electronica section, but more specifically, the patchwork electro-acoustic mosaic division beside Matmos, The Books, Collections of Colonies of Bees and fellow Achers Jab Mica Och El (all Audiversitarian favorites). Dixon apparently likes to work with recording themes: 2004’s Hawaii 5.0 was made from solely sounds of tropical areas and 2005’s Very Rec utilized field recordings from public recreational centers as source material. Plays doesn’t necessarily scrap the found sound mentality but instead of environmental noise, he pulls samples from improvised sessions with friends (including members of They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, The Winks, The Doers, Winning and Ghost House). Dixon can't quit his themes cold turkey though, so he stipulates that all instruments must be electricity-free forcing his crew to put away their electric guitars and synthesizers and pick up strings, horns, woodwinds and hand percussion. Though the end product is heavily edited and manipulated, the organic nature of its source material seeps through the music and creates a very intriguing and unpredictable sound. The arrangements and sequencing can be at times jarring, but the warm nature of the samples restricts any harsh angles from completely penetrating the music. Lush melodies peak their head momentarily but are as quickly decapitated by waves of skittering frequencies which in turn get lost in the downpour of colorful blips and bloops until you get the sonic equivalent of… well an Ache record cover. The opening track, “String Lake,” eases you into the album with loose string warm-ups and light hand-percussion before unleashing the rampant cut-and-paste coos of “Grand About the Mouth.” “Deciduism” commences with an inspired saxophone melody that melts into buoyant string plucks, flute wisps and an enveloping percussion circle, and a few tracks later, “To Burry a Tent” features a comforting baritone sax, Dixon’s ghostly ooo’s and whichever of the dancing sounds is made by a “700 cc Radially Spoked 32 Hole Front Bicycle Wheel.” Only two tracks contain anything even remotely resembling a lyrical front: the pop-punkish yelps of “Kool Aid River” and the chipmunk rap of “I Can’t Get Down,” neither of which stand-out but are not really unwelcome either. With the album clocking in just shy of 50 minutes, I found my attention waning for the last couple of tracks (which is a shame since the gorgeous and minimal “Up on Mt. Okay” is one of the highlights of the record), but it’s hard to say that there is any excess material to cut away. All in all, Plays is an excellent and inventive album even if Dixon is not the first to purvey such cut-and-paste pop. It also acts as a wonderful introduction to Secret Mommy if for some reason you are like me and sorely overlooked the name. Personally, I’m looking forward to playing catch up.







Xela - The Long Walk Home at Midnight (Type 2007, originally Neo Ouija 2003)

Xela – For Frosty Mornings and Summer Nights / Type

The Devon, England label Neo Ouija has resided quietly behind shut doors since 2005, but according to their official website, they will once again be gracing our ears with their melodic, warm electronic music in the coming months. The first go around, label head Lee Norris aka Metamtics pointed our Aphexed ears towards the inviting and glitchy atmospheres of Kettel, Kero, Apparat and especially a young Brit named John Twells, or as you probably know him, Xela. Twells now runs the excellent U.K. imprint Type, who has put out records by Logreybeam, Mountaineer and Ryan Teague among others, as well as continuing to progress his music under the Xela moniker, including an Audiversity favorite: 2006's The Dead Sea. The Manchester-based multi-instrumentalist and producer excels at pulling atmosphere out of slow triggering analog machinery and garnishing it with bright touches of guitar and the occasional horn. He played in a number of bands as a youth before taking an interest in the burgeoning indie-glitch scene of the early 00s and setting out on his own with a trunk full of analog synthesizers, used drum machines and shoddy tape recorders. As it turns out, Twells was a natural behind the knobs and his early demos caught the ears of Norris who signed him to Neo Ouija and encouraged the recordings that would become For Frosty Mornings and Summer Nights. Originally released in 2003, the album received a good amount of positive press thanks to its inviting atmosphere and creative programming, and the Xela name quickly joined the ranks of other such blossoming Aphex Twin devotees at that time like Manitoba, Marumari, Savath & Savalas and of course Boards of Canada. As the title suggests, For Frosty Mornings and Summer Nights is a peaceful affair, quiet pastures of synthesizer wash provide an inviting environment for fluttering drum machines and the occasional galloping guitar melody. The ultra-minimal clicks and blips remind me mostly of Dan Snaith's early albums, but with the attention to ambient detail so astounding in early Scott Herron recordings with pre-exotica Savath & Savalas (not a rip -ed.). Twells shows off his electronic ambidexterity as well, "Afraid of Monsters" opens with a very melodic undertone and tight sequences of clicks and hums, "Under the Glow of Streetlights" follows with a stripped-down, washed-out hip-hop feel and "Japanese Whispers" utilizes a skittering, avant-garde bounce that would be comfortable on a Prefuse 73 disc. Later on, "Bobble Hats in Summer" sounds more latter day Xela with it's breeze-blown hollow glass clanks and throbbing synth melodies, while original album capper "Last Breath" is a pleasant electronic lullaby. It's hard to call it groundbreaking by any means, but nonetheless enjoyable and a nice launching pad for a promising artistic career. Out of print for a good number of years now, For Frosty Mornings has been remastered and repackaged for its Type debut with brand new artwork care of Matthew Woodson, who provided the excellent cover for The Dead Sea, and embellished with two unreleased tracks written during the same time period: "A Glance" being an ultra minimal, sparse number and "Danse Macabre" in the later, darker style of Xela. This is a record that deserves a collection spot next to Folk Songs for Trains, Tree and Honey, Start Breaking My Heart and Wolves Hollow in that wonderful niche of electronica that effects both your sentimental and experimental moods.