September, 2011 (32 items)

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  Artist/Title: Carbon Records - Fall 2011 - Black 10 Format: TSHIRT Label: Carbon Records Price: $10 Catalog ID: CarbonTSHIRT_Fall2011_Black 100% cotton short sleeve black tshirt with gray/silver ink design. i used an older worn screen to distress the logo a bit.

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  Artist/Title: Carbon Records - Fall 2011 - Dark Blue 10 Format: TSHIRT Label: Carbon Records Price: $10 Catalog ID: CarbonTSHIRT_Fall2011_DarkBlue 100% cotton short sleeve dark blue tshirt with gray/silver ink design. i used an older worn screen to distress the logo a bit.

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  Artist/Title: Carbon Records - Fall 2011 - Light Blue 10 Format: TSHIRT Label: Carbon Records Price: $10 Catalog ID: CarbonTSHIRT_Fall2011_LightBlue 100% cotton short sleeve light blue (manufacturer calls it Indigo) tshirt with gray/silver ink design. i used an older worn screen to distress the logo a bit.

• Artist/Title: Coffee - pissing contest loser 0 Label: Carbon Records Price: $6 Catalog ID: CR138 At some point QBICO mentioned to Dave Cross that they were interested in putting out a Coffee album. Dave Cross gave me two cassette tapes that were recorded years earlier. One had a spacey synth jam that he wanted me to change from Stereo to Mono and spruce up a bit. The other was a four track practice jam tape of Dave Cross, Tim Poland and Joe Sorriero playing some sort of noisy free jazz or something. Dave told me that he liked how bits of it sounded, but did not like any particular chunks as songs. His direction to me was to use this as source material and make it sound like Harry Pussy. I transfered the four tracks individually from the tape, listened to each and then selected short sections that seemed the most appropriate and mastered them individually. I then dumped all the snippets into a multi-track program and started to arrange them. Mostly I stuck similar bits together and sort of constructed songs, that overlapped. At some point I also got the idea that I should give each player a short solo section, to make it seem more like one long, organic, free jazz piece. The result was "Pissing Contest (Loser Version)". It did not sound like Harry Pussy. For some reason it reminded me of This Heat. I then had an idea that I should make a more chaotic version by simply looping every track after it made its appearance in my constructed recording. Afterwards I made several different mastered versions of both versions and gave them to Dave. Dave told me had a hard time picking as he liked both versions, but the second version came closer to his original concept so that's what we sent to QBICO to get pressed as "Pissing Contest". If one listens closely, one can hear this first version underneath the official version. Also included in this release is a Stereo version of "Space 1988". r.nuuja 2011

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  Artist/Title: Social Junk - Summer Concussion 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR179 This is the first release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. Documenting Social Junk's 2008 Summer Tour (with Big Nurse), this is a great collection of live drone/drum/out captures. Similar to the Dead C, but with their own unique rhythm and pace. [packaged with a full-color pro-printed folded card in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Sindre Bjerga and Textured Bird Transmission - Temple of Transparent Wisdom 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR180 This is the second release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. Recorded in 2007 and 2009 in Stavanger Norway and Weymouth UK respectively, this is some dense heavy drones with the perfect balance of texture and movement. [packaged with a full-color pro-printed folded card in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Irene Moon ++ - Triffles and True Trifles 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR181 This is the third release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. This is an amazing collection of various projects of Irene Moon, including Auk Theatre, Darker Florida, Collection of Late Howell Bend and solo Irene. Performance art/installations, meets science/entomology, meets weirdo noise-scapes. check out www.begoniasociety.org for more information on each group. [packaged with a full-color pro-printed folded card in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Drive the Pieces Together - Ethnography 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR182 This is the fourth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. "Drive the Pieces Together was a band that existed for one performance only. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not sure if it was a band or a composition....Peter Warren, a guitarist, had composed a piece of electronic music with significant silences in it. The group, consisting of Steve Norton (a sax player who would, for this project, only play a turntable), Vic Rawlings (amplified cello), Erik Carlsen (tuba), Dave (reeds), and me (Howard Stelzer) (cassette tapes), would improvise along with Peter's recording, which would function as a sort of score." [packaged with silk-screened logo over a unique "sampled" page in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Mike Shiflet and Ryan Jewell - Hysteresis 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR183 This is the fifth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 35+ minutes of controlled feedback, drone, silence, static, samples and acoustic/live improv. [packaged with silk-screened logo over a unique "sampled" page in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Century Plants - Copper Visions 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR184 This is the sixth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 32+ minutes of dirgy space jams from this amazing duo out of Albany NY. like lost transmissions from deep seated roots. Ray and Eric are also members of Burnt Hills, Transcendental Manship Highway, Rambutan and Fossils From the Sun. [packaged with pro-printed covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Stone Baby - if English is good enough for jesus, then its good enough for me 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR185 This is the seventh release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 40+ minutes of guitar, effects, violin, synth and vocals. textured drones, ghostly vocalizations, keyboard swells and progressions. this is quite a collection of tracks from this geographically challenged duo (WesternNY/US and Germany) [packaged with pro-printed covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Burnt Hills - Alpha Seven 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR186 This is the eighth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 60+ minutes of psyched out jam vibrations from this Albany NY ensemble. [packaged with pro-printed covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Dylan Nyoukis - The Curious March of the Goat Faced 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR187 This is the ninth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 1 second under 60 minutes of vocal experiments, field recordings, sound collage, synth space effects, string arrangements and more. [packaged with pro-printed covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes] Reviews (1): Weirdo Records A rather outdoorsy feel to these recordings from then-recent touring around the continent. Some background growling that makes it seem like you're Jane Goodall traipsing down a misty mountain, but at the bottom, instead of gorillas there are a bunch of tiny aliens landing in thousands of miniature spaceships, beeping as their engines swoop down. Plenty of contact mics rustling, dogs & birds & cow imitations, daughter Elka laughing like she just got a good one over on you, a cello sawing back & forth, whispery shudders of some sorta footpump (played by Chris Corsano no less), wet ploppings, unidentifiable brapps, and so on. I hear my favorite brand of duck call in there too!

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  Artist/Title: Hinkley - Heaven is High 8 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR190 This is the tenth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 14 tracks from Will Veeder and company. Hinkley is a departure from the usual Carbon improv/abstract/noise/etc releases, but if you're into song writing, and really great rock, sometimes country-ish, sometimes poppy, songs, then this is your bag. [packaged with pro-printed covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

• Add to Cart Song Previews: Your Brother, My Brother

  Artist/Title: Crush the Junta - your brother, my brother 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR191 This is the fourteenth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 3 pieces from a live set recorded at the Bug Jar in July 2010. The heavy, loud low-end-heavy free-rock you've grown to expect from this 3-piece. [packaged with pro-printed covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes] Reviews (1): Crucial Blast The latest chunk of lava-like improv-rock from Crush The Junta, that towering trio from Rochester, NY that features members of Entente Cordiale and Transcendental Manship Highway. Yep, we love dark, heavy free rock, and Crush The Junta deliver that in spades with this three track full length that documents a live performance at the Bug Jar in Rochester from earlier in 2010, released as part of Carbon's sprawling 15YR. Series. Think loud, bass-heavy riffage wandering through pounding saurian rhythms, wailing noise guitar freak outs, lumbering slow-core; this'll be right up your alley if you are into the likes of likeminded freeform riff monsters like Rakhim, Burnt Hills, Skullflower, Heavy Winged, Ultrabunny, and Grey Daturas. First up, "Driving Forward" hangs suspended guitar notes among the slow outward wheeze of feedback, introducing their set with a thick foggy drone, a stream of feedback slowly beginning to swell, then recede; the band gradually cranking the volume as the drums enter in a storm of crashing cymbals, and the song strengthens into a pounding drone-rock jam with a powerful melodic riff forming within the bashing, overloaded rock drone, a monstrous single-chord pounding that becomes infused with rumbling, buzzing machine noises that fade in and out, then veers off into jazzier, noisier territory in the latter half of the track. Then the title track comes in with crushing Codeine-esque slowcore based around a droning repetitious riff and slow heavy drums that tread into oblivion, splattered with drugged howls and gusts of amplifier noise. Finally we come to the massive seventeen minute "Clausius", starting with a minimal percussive rhythm and the buzz of a cranked amp, then introducing a lone guitar playing a simple, almost jazzy figure, the drums alternating between shuffling snare and heavier pounding, the guitar beginning to work itself into circular shapes; after several minutes of this, the band finally lets loose, erupting into a brutal squall of Fushitsusha-style feedback and powerful drumming and mangled guitar skronk, and then around halfway in, it turns into a rumbling, zonked out feedback drone jam, waves of garbled guitar noise and bending feedback notes rippling through the air, forming a thick atmosphere of amplifier electricity that gets pretty hypnotic as it stretches out for several minutes. Then the drums crash back in, hammering out a slow, ponderous dirge, while the simple droning guitar begins to bloom into a simple moody riff that repeats over and over, the whole thing morphing into a super heavy droning slowcore crush, getting noisier and more atonal and more distorted as it goes on, screaming high end guitar dropping in sinister howling leads, the sound going from trancey and mesmeric into this darker sludge assault that finishes out the set. Comes in a full color cardboard jacket in a thick vinyl sleeve.

• Add to Cart Song Previews: Will You Marry Me Glitzerland

  Artist/Title: Ails al'on - ten ten ten 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR193 This is the last release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 36+ minutes of noisy pop, synth, psych, heaviness from this duo consisting of David Merulla of Autumn in Halifax and Joe Tunis (of Carbon, Tuurd, Tumul, formerly of Pengo, etc). [packaged with 3-color silkscreened covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Colonel Parmisan - Ziggurat 5 Format: CDR Label: No Label Price: $5 Catalog ID: CarbonDist_ColPam_Ziggurat 34+mins. at times, dense instrumentation and other times, very airy and sparse with lots of room. consists of electronics, strings and percussion.

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  Artist/Title: Haunted House - Blue Ghost Blues 12 Format: LP Label: Northern Spy (USA) Price: $16 Catalog ID: CarbonDist_NS012 "The blues has grown up a lot in the last ten years, since guitarist Andrew Burnes left New York for Georgia, bringing a de facto end to the powerful abstract blues of Haunted House. In the time since, a new generation — sometimes referred to as Freak Folk or New Weird America and spearheaded by Tom Carter*, Jack Rose and Ben Chasny — has followed in the footsteps of Loren Connors, John Fahey and a handful of others who have long maintained that the blues is something more than 12 bars and a backbeat. After the demise of Haunted House, Connors continued preaching the gospel, often with his wife — the enigmatic singer Suzanne Langille — to anyone who would listen, playing a slow, distorted, reverb-drenched blues as slowly the world began to come around. Then, in the summer of 2010, the stars aligned just so: Burnes was in town for a few days, percussionist Neel Murgai was available, and the Brooklyn’s Issue Project Room was booking matinee concerts in their courtyard. The band had only existed for a brief two years and had been absent for a decade, but they picked up right where they left off with only a brief soundcheck as rehearsal. Another matter of months, and they were in the studio, recording at long last the follow-up to their 1999 Erstwhile release Up in Flames. Looking back, maybe it isn’t that the blues has grown up. Maybe it has reverted to its youth. After all, John Lee Hooker, Son House and Mississippi Fred McDowell weren’t beholden to any 12-bar fixity. Nor was Lonnie Johnson, whose song “Haunted House” gave the band its name. They all played it how they felt it. It wasn’t until the 1960s and the British blues revival (its champion, ironically perhaps, being Connors’ beloved Eric Clapton) that the blues was codified into its current formula. Haunted House is an unusual band. With Indian hand percussion and no bass, they don’t look like a blues band — and maybe they’re not. But they play it how they feel it. What more could you ask for?"

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  Artist/Title: Dan Melchior und das Menace - Catbirds & Cardinals 12 Format: LP Label: Northern Spy (USA) Price: $16 Catalog ID: CarbonDist_NS011 "Catbirds and Cardinalsis the latest psychedelic album lobbed in to New World shores from Dan Melchior und das Menace. Coming down slow with a clear vision, it’s a sure hit. Since the late 90s, Shepperton, England native Dan Melchior has consistently delivered an avant-pop that is off-kilter and literate, with a sense of menace and a stronger sense of play. He’s a new Jesus of Cool, riding just about the underground like the antipodean Chris Knox. The sound of Catbirds and Cardinals is clean, lo-fi, deeply-engaging, and guaranteed to pull in new legions of fans. It’s a clever garage pop set that will lick your pate clean. On Catbirds and Cardinals, Dan Melchior und das Menace successfully meld a hodge podge of disparate elements into a cohesive whole, bringing to mind veteran UK and US underground bands like The Swell Maps, Andrew Klimek, Chrome and Alternative Television more than they do old blues men or the tweedy garage rock conservatives of Dan’s past. Catbirds and Cardinals is probably the most overtly ‘poppy’ Das Menace release, with songs like ‘Poison Pete’s Holiday’ and ‘English Shame’ lodging in the cranium like carpet warehouse jingles. The recordings retain the overdriven quality Melchior is known for but push the envelope sonically into some unexpected places, with the dream like synths of ‘Crow Radio number 1′ showing a marked departure from the overall guitar grime."

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  Artist/Title: Novoe Tsarstvo - Voda Naidet Teply Dim 6 Format: CASS Label: cae-sur-a (USA) Price: $6 Catalog ID: CarbonDist_caesura_012 "This ever- fluctuating group of musicians from Russia finds themselves teaming up with other like-minded musicians in Finland. A precursor to a forthcoming LP on 8mm and a follow up to a self released cassette, Voda naidet telpy dym showcase the breadth of this collective’s sonic force as they explore improvisation by melding jazz, drone and folk melodies. This double-sided suite documents the group live in Helsinki 01/02/2011. Pro Printed inserts on heavy card stock. Hand numbered edition of 100."

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  Artist/Title: These Feathers have Plumes - All Cats are Grey by Night 6 Format: CASS Label: cae-sur-a (USA) Price: $6 Catalog ID: CarbonDist_caesura_011 "Hailing from the fair city of London, with previous releases on Period.Tapes and Tartuga Records, These Feathers Have Plumes finds Andie Brown expanding upon her original, deep droning compositions for double bass, field recordings and glass. Exploring elements of psychogeography and modern composition, All Cats are Grey by Night winds the listener through dark and heavy soundways and into light, haunting beauty. Pro printed inserts on heavy card stock. Hand number edition of 100"

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  Artist/Title: Mold Omen - Blacktop 6 Format: CASS Label: cae-sur-a (USA) Price: $6 Catalog ID: CarbonDist_caesura_010 "Mold Omen’s Blacktop wastes no time initiating a continuous battle between a heavy, droning maelstrom of noise and the electro-melodies desperately trying to free themselves. By the end, the balance between forces becomes a serious mantra for the head. With a lo-fi sonicscape that wreaks of scorched earth, this Baltimore duo knows how to leave a serious path of devastation in their wake."

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  Artist/Title: Science vs. Witchcraft - 300 Useful Sound Effects 6 Format: CASS Label: cae-sur-a (USA) Price: $6 Catalog ID: CarbonDist_caesura_009 "At this point in time 300 Useful Sound Effects stands as the swan song for Rochester’s premier lewd boner rock band, Science vs. Witchcraft. Captured live to tape at the Bug Jar in 2010, with the band in top form. This limited edition release features 6 classics culled from their previous 2 eps including Sweatpant Boners, Too Big for Pants and crowd favorite Beautiful Package. Pro printed inserts on heavy card stock. Hand numbered edition of 100."

• Add to Cart Song Previews: Screen of Province In Slow Arcs

  Artist/Title: Autumn in Halifax - Kites With Broken Strings 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR117 autumn in halifax is "the quiet avant folk drone guitar and voice of david merulla." and this release showcases pretty much every aspect of that description. in addition to his amazing guitar/looping and vocal work, he is joined on a number of tracks by various friends from his previous stomping grounds in the San Diego (post)pop/rock scene. David does an amazing job of mixing delicate (and catchy) melodies and looping, with abstract sounds and textures . www.autumninhalifax.com Reviews (4): Two Way Monologues A lot of people have a tough time understanding how I can appreciate watching baseball, golf or even (gasp!) curling as much as I do, and I can understand that. The reality is that those activities just move too slowly for the majority of people. It can be the same way with a movie, like one of my all-time favourites, Waking Life. I find that movie riveting, and to date I still am trying to wrap my head around the intricacies of what it all means. I'd be an idiot to expect everyone to have the patience for that type of movie. And I would be an idiot to expect everyone to have the patience for Autumn in Halifax's record Kites With Broken Strings. Patience is absolutely crucial to enjoy Autumn in Halifax. There are moments that occur in the album that are absolutely crushing. The music has a way of lulling you into a mesmerized state where it is just you and the music; and then, like a cold bucket of water to the face, an abrupt change in the pacing or volume awakens you. It is just an incredible feeling when music can do that to you. The key is in the build up, or what I referred to as the lull. Rudimentary rules about song lengths are ignored here, and whatever length it takes to satisfactorily complete the song is used instead. The album title is fascinating, isn't it? Kites With Broken Strings -- what does that mean to you? To me, the one word that comes to mind is potential. A kite with broken strings at is useless; the sole function of a kite cannot be performed without strings. But that doesn't mean it can't regain that potential again and that it hasn't done beautiful things before. Maybe I am completely wrong and the band just named the album what it did because it sounds cool. I hope not. I also like my analysis because it fits well with this music in general. It is only as rewarding as you let it be. A casual listen to songs like "Farewell" just isn't going to cut it. "Farewell" actually offers the listener a great microcosm for what they going to experience during Kites With Broken Strings. Clocking in at 10:38, it is a slowburn, to say the least. In many ways I am reminded of Raising the Fawn but with a heavier emphasis on folk and more of a hint of fragility in David Merulla's vocals. Repeatedly, Merulla plays this quiet tranquil melody against the rhythmic drums, and the melody has more of an effect on me than most hard rock riffs ever do. When I listen to this song I know that everything will go on hold for ten minutes of my life and I can just let myself get lost into this music. And this, as I am discovering, is the true beauty of the drone style. For a minute and thirty seconds "Memphis" plods forward as it builds toward something, but the repetition soothes you -- and then it happens and demands that you perk up and listen. Merulla's voice couldn't be described as polished, it has a raw quality that contrasts well with the meticulous thought that goes into the guitar and instrumentation. I wouldn't suggest playing any of these songs at your next social gathering, but in those late artistic, contemplative hours of the night this is the soundtrack that you are craving. I am asking/encouraging anyone who reads this and would like to share an opinion on what they think the following lyrics mean to post or email and let me know, because I find them utterly fascinating: "Ghostly coma breaks/the radius of your smiles/when I need them most/Sparkles rival faith/Rivals sparkles truth/Sparkles rival faith/Rivals sparkle truth" Those lyrics come from "Stinger Glows Relief," another of the many excellent tracks Kites With Broken Strings has to offer. The song is constructed to force the listener to focus on Merulla's voice and those mysteriously beautiful lyrics. In spite of not knowing precisely what the lyrics mean, the sadness or despair in this song is still bordering on overwhelming. And it doesn't end with the three songs I mentioned. On their own these songs are decent, but as a whole the album is a more powerful and rewarding experience. The learning curve is higher, so you make the call. The flavour of the month or something that you won't be sick of this time in July? That is up to you. Songs to hear: As your attorney, I'd advise listening to the entire album. (Fear and Loathing reference, for those who just decided that I am crazy.) SCORE: 8.5 - Dan City Newspaper Cover story excerpt Rochester City Weekly (OCTOBER 26, 2005) A brisk wind blows through David Merulla's music At times, he inhabits his own music with such a gentle touch that he may as well be a ghost himself. His playing also moves forward at an unhurried pace almost unheard of in this day and age. The arrangements, which feature light electronic touches and playing and recording by members of Kill Me Tomorrow, Bartender's Bible, and the Black Heart Procession, leave ample room for echoes. Echoes in the spaces of buildings, echoes that span the rural American West... echoes of a tree-lined Rochester street bracing itself for the cold. - Saby Reyes-Kulkarni Pop Matters Autumn in Halifax is (mostly) David Merulla, and to get an idea of his music, it helps to know that he’s intrigued by both nature and architecture, and these two obsessions shape his music.  Like the former, his songs are often unconstrained and unpredictable, changing direction and feel without warning.  But like the latter, Merulla’s songs possess shape, though it’s not always apparent.  This is the rewarding part of his music—a few listens just do not suffice.  You have to live with the songs to discern the overall harmony and symmetry of its components, and what first sounded like random noise reveals itself to be part of a larger structure.  Merulla, you might say, paints on a large canvas, and standing too close prevents you from seeing the complete picture.  Once you see it, though, you can’t look away, despite that it’s often haunting, lonely, and unsettling. Kites with Broken Strings is Autumn in Halifax’s new album; consisting of eleven tracks, it exemplifies Merulla’s eccentric brand of folk.  Merulla handles vocal and guitar duties, but it would shortchange him to say he “plays” the guitar.  All the conventions of guitar playing—pleasing chord progressions, catchy hooks, pyrotechnic guitar solos—are absent from Merulla’s songs.  Lest you think, though, this means Merulla doesn’t know the tool of his craft, he does.  His approach, however, is completely different from the classic pop model of verse/chorus/solo/chorus/fade. Instead, his guitar lines drift back and forth, moving in and out of frame, disappearing only long enough to instill a sense of unease and anxiety, returning to both please and taunt.  His playing has been described as “quiet avant folk drone,” and while it’s all of these things, it might be more apt and succinct to say it’s surreal.  Each song on Kites with Broken Strings sounds like a collage of fragments of dream or memories, juxtaposed against one another, the interplay equally revealing and disturbing. Adding to the illusory feel of Autumn in Halifax’s songs is Merulla’s voice, which is always shaky, often shrill, and deliberately off-key.  Yes, this doesn’t sound like the kind of music you play at a party, and it isn’t—at least, that is, not until all the obligatory guests have left and only your core group of confidantes remain.  Autumn in Halifax, you see, isn’t for everyone, but only those who enjoy investing in the listening experience, those who know that rewarding art often requires something from the observer.  And Merulla’s voice and songwriting do require that you pay attention, but together, they are hypnotic, each chasing after one another until they collide. Overall, Kites with Broken Strings is disquietingly serene, much like a memory that has no tangible power in the present, but still manages to disrupt.  Indeed, songs like “A Quiet Long Enough” and “In Slow Arcs” capture the transitory nature of memories, each based on loose guitar patterns that repeat themselves.  “A Quiet Long Enough” is an instrumental song, and the repeating guitar patterns are complimented with backwards electric guitar notes.  This gives the song a reverse momentum, as if any forward progress is always determined, and ultimately thwarted, by what came before.  “In Slow Arcs” features vocals and instrumentation, but still feels transient.  Drums crash into the middle of the song, accelerate the pace, but then disappear into the background.  Later, they repeat the same pattern, creating a bizarre ebb and flow. Lyrically, Merulla isn’t interested in telling stories or creating character sketches; rather, he gives the listeners images and lets them make connections.  You might, for instance, think a song titled “Memphis” would tell of drunken nights down on Beale Street, but that’s too obvious.  Instead, Merulla presents a series of snapshots that, while loosely related, don’t tell a coherent story: “The sound of winter... I came to... Memphis... we left it in the sea.” Likewise, in “Water + Wire,” the listener is forced to make coherence out of fragmented thoughts: “Nothing left unless we rest / Accidents, they... they test / The gentle texture of water and wire.” Only half the words in most the songs are discernible, which somehow makes the lyrics all the more intriguing.  Of course, such lyrical wordplay would be easy to dismiss as artistic pretension, but Merulla’s lyrics make perfect sense within the context of his songwriting. Like both architecture and nature, Autumn in Halifax’s songs deal with the role of space—the space between people, the space between the past and the present, and the space between reality and illusions.  Kites with Broken Strings is perfect for pondering such reflective matters, and while it offers no answers, it makes you realize that questioning is better than knowing. Transitory and haunting, Autumn in Halifax's songs sound like all those past moments that determine your present situation. - Michael Franco Delusions of Adequacy “Thank you...from the bottom of my bloody folk heart,” David Merulla writes in the liner notes for Autumn in Halifax’s Kites with Broken Strings, and I’m struck with what an interesting description that would be for this band: bloody folk. Take your structured folk music, and dissect it, sometimes into its barest components and sometimes into delectable chunks of folk goodness, and you get the unique and endearing sound of Autumn in Halifax. Rochester native Merulla is the heart of his bloody folk sound, assisted on the album with assorted friends, and on this release, he delivers one of the most intriguing albums I’ve heard in ages. There’s tracks here for those who love traditional song structures and those who eschew them, and sometimes both will be pleased in the same song. At the heart of these songs is a moody folk sensibility, but Merulla and friends get so creative in mixing these songs and adding in ebow, lap steel, Rhodes piano, and assorted noises, that the result is something truly unique. The album opens with the quiet “A Quiet Long Enough,” which warps its guitars forward and backward, creating a kind of ambient soundscape. It’s merely a prelude, though, to the lengthy and brilliant “Farewell,” which gives perhaps the perfect feel for Autumn in Halifax’s sound. It’s flowing, eerily moody at times and yet striking in Merulla’s lyrics and lilting vocals. The drums are booming, the guitar repeating its lines in the backdrop, keyboards lilting and pretty by contrast, and what seems incohesive in theory comes together beautifully. “In Slow Arcs” brings to mind Joan of Arc in structure as well as Merulla’s purposefully off-key singing style. “Water + Wire” is sweet and gentle, and Merulla’s singing style is endearing more than jarring, nicely complimenting the rich tones of this quiet yet poppy track. “Echo in the Lower Case” is a gentle instrumental, lilting and smooth and evocative. It leads nicely into the album’s centerpiece, the brilliantly powerful and instrumentally textured “Memphis.” The album is rounded out by the more folky “Aluminum Smile,” creative found songs to back up “Lemon Tigers,” more poppy “Pretty Noise,” the stark and stripped-bare “Stinger Glows Relief,” and the esoteric “Screen of Province” that provides a nice bookend to the opening instrumental. Merulla spins tales in true folk style that take on an almost dreamy feel, his lyrics telling of “birds, avalanches, water, hearts, and silence,” as he notes in his bio. His instrumentation – at times quiet and moody, at times experimental in approach – is the perfect accompaniment to these tales and still works on its own in the instrumentals. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself getting lost in these songs, wondering where the time went, wondering where these strange and discomforting thoughts are coming from. Merulla’s music is meant to lull you disarmingly and strike you with its dichotomies. It’s enigmatic and unusual and startlingly effective. And I’ve yet to hear a release this experimental in approach work so well. This is truly a gorgeous album. - Jeff Marsh

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  Artist/Title: Autumn in Halifax - Robert Frank & The Moon 10 Format: BOOKLET and CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR175 The short story Robert Frank & The Moon written by David Merulla began as a title written in one of David's notebooks and then continued to reappear in subsequent notebooks and on various scraps of paper. David's affinity for the Swiss photographer Robert Frank plays a subliminal part in seeing the story through however the story is more about memory, shapes and origami. The companion soundtrack ep is an instrumental music recording by Autumn in Halifax & The Leaves, meant to be listened to while reading the story, however can also be enjoyed by itself. The ep was recorded live to two track at the Wolf Den, Rochester, New York by Joe Tunis, mixed by Chris Reeg & David Merulla. Autumn in Halifax & The Leaves is David Merulla, Scott Oliver, Chris Reeg and Joe Tunis. [package include a 5x7 booklet with pro-printed cover, silkscreened cdr and silkscreened kraft stay-flat envelope] Reviews (2): Pirtlegimp This is an EP of instrumental tracks from the wonderful Autumn in Halifax – the band that is directly responsible for the existence of Pirtlegimp Promotions. These tracks are the audio portion of a package that includes a short story and should still be available from Carbon Records should you be interested. If you like the more minimal and lo-fi leaning post rock then you should be all over this; to me it sounds like a very slowed down collaboration between The Dead C and the pretty post rock band of your choice. - Rob Rioux Indie Street Radio Autumn in Halifax - The Story: Taking notes from Raymond Carver and Proust in a distinctly contemporary sense, Robert Frank & The Moon uses a traffic accident as the centerpiece to thematically explore and concretize an Augustinian conception of time. The Music: The soundtrack to Robert Frank & The Moon stands on its own right as a contemplative (primarily) guitar-based piece with a distinct interplay between both arpeggio rhythm and warm-sunset-drone, and structured song and ambiance. The “Total Package”: There is an inherent problem of putting story to music in this fashion: timing. That is to say, should one read the story to the pace of the music, is the music composed to fit the average amount of time one takes to read the story, how closely aligned is the music to the story, etc.? I chose to simply read the story at my own pace accompanied by the music without worry of any sort of artistic intention of alignment. While I finished the story sometime in the third song of the “soundtrack,” it would be inaccurate to say that this juxtaposition doesn’t have any meaning. My reading often became one with the pervading rhythm or mood of the piece, mimicking the narrative’s complex, intersecting, and inextricably tangled rhythms of life.

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  Artist/Title: Autumn in Halifax - the soft, soft shakes 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $10 Catalog ID: CR177 Recorded in multiple studios over the course of 2007 and 2008, in both Upstate New York and San Diego California, Autumn in Halifax; David Merulla and W.Dirk Doucette, along with various contributors put together another collection of songs with considered arrangements and colored by multiple instruments including Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes pianos, singing saw, accordion, trumpet, vintage effects and the familiar guitars,drums and bass. The warmth of 1970's rock and roll, concise pop songs and subtle experimentation all can be found within this particular song cycle. Reviews (1): City Newspaper Setting out to make a "more pop-sounding" album this time around, Autumn In Halifax leader David Merulla proves that poppiness doesn't have to come at the expense of substance. Merulla's work can flow as gently as a canoe being carried downstream by a slow current, but tends to be heavy on the atmosphere. He also writes prose, and his songs often come across like the sonic equivalent of pastoral scenes described in dense passages of literature. By contrast, "Soft Shakes" immediately gets off to a more anthemic start with the singalong-inducing "Sleepwalkers." As the album goes on, drummers William Doucette and Jonathan Stevens provide lively beats even as Merulla begins to evoke the deep stillness of vintage acoustic Neil Young. Merulla has an unparalleled knack for challenging your expectations while going easy on your ears. As accessible and beautiful as it is, "Soft Shakes" still commands a most rewarding kind of patience. - City Weekly

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  Artist/Title: SHED (aka Jungle Heart) - Street Ghost 6 Format: CASS Label: Carbon Records Price: $6 Catalog ID: CR188 This is the twelfth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 32+ minutes of sampled and live vocals, guitars, drones, cut-ups, dirge, textures, beats, throb, sourced-tape warble, and electronic wizardry. Note: this is the US based duo, not the European DJ guy. [packaged with spray/splattered/stamped cardboard cassette holder, pro-dup'd and printed cassettes and b&w poster sheet. ]

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  Artist/Title: Thurston Moore - Suicide Notes for Acoustic Guitar 8 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR192 This is the eleventh release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 25+ minutes of guitar explorations from this veteran of the scene, as well as Sonic Youth. this is some of the best solo guitar works i've heard in a while and one of my favorite from Thurston. [packaged with pro-printed covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve]

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  Artist/Title: Jungle Heart - nipple confusion 6 Format: CASS Label: Carbon Records Price: $6 Catalog ID: CR189 This is the thirteenth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. a new collaboration between the members of SHED and TUMUL. 47+ minutes of beat-oriented, draaag influenced. low/sloooow vocals, dirty electronics, beats and loops and more. [packaged with spray/splattered/stamped cardboard cassette holder, pro-dup'd and printed cassettes and b&w poster sheet. ]

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  Artist/Title: [n.] - ein klagelied für 3f 6 Format: CASS Label: cae-sur-a (USA) Price: $6 Catalog ID: CarbonDist_caesura_007 „Sprechen Sie deutsch?“ – Despite the fact that Jen Marquart is quite a fluent speaker, Ein Klagelied für 3f is mostly a non-verbal electro-acoustic affair. Even though Jen’s voice is barely audible on these recordings, the music speaks to you in the most intimate way. Rushes of noise tickle your ears, waves of drone gently make you shiver and occasionally­, voices appear in this hot n’ cold experimental mix. In short: an immersive experience to affect your body & soul! -Holger Adam, Phantom Limbo Hand numbered edition of 100

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  Artist/Title: Bruise Halo - + 12 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $10 Catalog ID: CR199 nearly 30min of heavy dirty synth, buried beats, mumbling, effect-saturated vocals and other elements. this is the electronic/synth side of Joe Tunis (aka, Joe+N, member of Tumul, Tuurd, Crush the Junta and more, and former member of Pengo and Hilkka). [packaged with a 12"x12" piece of unique wooden artwork, layers of drywall compound, paint, sprayed, stenciled and splattered. limited to 96 pieces]

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  Artist/Title: throuRoof - Feathers & Blood 6 Format: CASS Label: cae-sur-a (USA) Price: $6 Catalog ID: CarbonDist_caesura_008 "throuRoof paints his work with a language that bleeds full spectrum. From the sun drenched fields of the opener Birdism to the solemn blue depths of the accompanying title track. Feathers & Blood is a work that is subtle and sophisticated, made by impressively restrained means that engulf the listener in a landscape of wide-eyed beauty. Hand numbered edition of 100."