A big thanks to Volcanic Tongue for the wonderful reviews of our new vinyl releases!
Eye - Winterwork (Nyali 9 - LP)
Staggering full-length vinyl debut from this amazing New Zealand drone/rock group with connections that go deep into the whole Flying Nun/Xpressway/Metonymic scene in an edition of only 250 copies on 140g vinyl and with liner notes from Bruce Russell of The Dead C: Eye is a mind-flailing trio in the classic NZ style that features the legendary Peter Stapleton on drums (who has played with everyone from The Pin Group through Scorched Earth Policy, Victor Dimisich Band, Terminals, Flies Inside The Sun and more), Peter Porteous on guitar and Nathan Thompson on guitar and samples. As Russell says in his liners, Eye have the uncanny ability “to make time flow backwards” and across this stunning set they do violence to notions of linearity and past and future. No one can bisect a drone with the kind of uncanny feel for full group levitation as Peter Stapleton and here he is on true time-killing form, building violent cymbal ascensions over rainbows of overtone-thick amplifier worship as the 12 strings blossom into almost choral-primitive shapes, conjuring a form of ancient>future devotional music that feels supremely lonely and distant, touching on the magical voids-away feel of Roy Montgomery or Grouper while mainlining the post-Xpressway keys to the kingdom. Eye come out of the classic tradition of hands-on group-dynamic drone, taking off on lessons learned from collectives like AMM, MEV and, of course, The Velvet Underground and this is a tradition that has been central to the evolution of the NZ underground, with less solo drone workers and more big-band/group-playing freak focus, with a focus on actual hand-on playing to generate the kinda sounds that would bring down the skies. And this is it, one of the monumental contemporary drone summits from a buncha players who know. One of the major long-form statements of the year and a massive statement of intent from the Glasgow-based Nyali label’s new vinyl incarnation. Beautifully packaged with a hand-numbered risographed insert, this is a monster. Highest possible recommendation!
The Flexibles - Cities of the Narrow Universe (Nyali 10 - 7")
Edition of only 250 copies debut 7” from a new Glasgow based collapsed power trio featuring Richard Youngs, his son Sorley Youngs (six years old at the time of the recording of this EP) and Andrew Paine: safe to say you have never heard anything remotely like this. The A side, “Oh Volcanio” (do they mean us?!) features a brain-mangling monochord riff that comes straight out of the early Throbbing Gristle/Zyklon-B Zombie school while Richard repeats the title in thrilling arcs of Church Of England glory while Sorley makes with down-tuned/screwed vocal that come over like Darth Vader narrates early Whitehouse, rhythm boxes spit out clunky, off rhythms ala Tori Kudo/Jutok Kaneko and guitars and bass bleed pure electricity. It’s disturbing, hermetic, gloriously out and massively life affirming. The flip features two tracks that take the devolved rock/pop Industrial brut into new levels of early Cabaret Voltaire style electro lurch complete with more peaking/down-tuned vocals, dunting rhythms, occult whispers and OTT DIY art strategies reduced to new depths/peaks. Hands-down the single of the year, can’t see anything coming close on the format as it feels these three are birthing a whole new form of spontaneous rock music here. Rumours of a full-length forthcoming on No Fans; this is the goddamn source. Too much and highest possible recommendation!!