The Squid's Ear
Writing about improvised, contemporary, experimental and unusual music,
following the activities of Squidco...
  •  •  •     Join Our Mailing List!



The Squid's Ear




Heard In

Reviews of artist releases:
cd's, books, magazines, &c.


  Gurumaniax 
  Psy Valley Hill
  (Bureau B) 


  
   review by Jeph Jerman
  2011-01-19
Gurumaniax: Psy Valley Hill (Bureau B)

Drummer Mani Neumeier late of Guru Guru, and guitarist Ax Genrich, are joined by bassist Guy Segers from Universe Zero for a "let's lay down some sounds before we can't anymore" jam, and succeed in resurrecting the ghost of Krautrock. Not having heard very much of this genre I can't comment on how it compares to the "classic" recordings, but for what it is, it's a fun listen. This kind of jamming can become tedious really quickly, but through good playing and listening, and some well-placed textural elements, these guys manage to keep things interesting.

"Drumoroto" kicks off with a driving beat and once it gets going turns into a nice Psych-rock work out, building to a couple of peaks and settling back down. "Spaceship Memory" is, as its name implies, spacier, with whines, groans and synth sounds oscillating between speakers before a throbbing beat starts up. The longest track here, it takes its time getting going. "Telefonladies" has bits of disembodied telephone operator voices floating through, and these are just about the only vocals on the album, except for a bit of yodeling from Neumeier on "Ghost Of Odin".

"Voodoo Touch" is jazzier, with a swing beat underneath the synth sweeps which gradually starts to unravel a bit, creating some tension. "Electrosaurus" starts with a crunching sound and continues with highly reverberated guitar and synth. Probably the most atmospheric thing here, the beat kind of floats before disappearing altogether. And so it goes. Not a groundbreaking session by any means, but hey, what will you be doing when you're 70?





Comments and Feedback:



More Recent Reviews, Articles, and Interviews @ The Squid's Ear...


The Squid's Ear presents
reviews about releases
sold at Squidco.com
written by
independent writers.

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Samuel Blaser Quartet:
Rosina
(Blaser Music)



Samuel Blaser Quartet:
Rosina
[CASSETTE]
(Blaser Music)



TRAC (
Teddy Ryles/
Alexander Cooper):
Heavy Nano Ream Aria
[2 CDs]
(Bu Lang Tribute Cake)



Tyshawn Sorey (
w/
O'Farrill/
Shim/
Korten/
Allen II/
Victor):
Members... Don't!
[2 CDs]
(Pi Recordings)



Josh Berman Trio:
Everybody Else's Life,
Too
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)



Charles Downs Quartet (
w/
Paz/
Saft/
Morris):
Inner
(ESP Disk)



Satoko Fujii:
Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra
[2 CDs]
(Libra)



Henry Kaiser:
Gateway To Strangeness (
solo guitar)
(Metalanguage)



Michael Marcus Quartet (
Marcus/
Williams/
Rodriguez/
Mednard):
Next Stop Down
(ESP Disk)



Le GGRIL + DDK:
Diffraction
(Tour de Bras/
Circum-Disc)



Jason Kahn/
Phil Durrant/
Mark Wastell/
Caius Williams:
Where The Stars
(Editions)



The Tony Williams
Emergency w/ John McLaughlin/
Larry Young:
Emergency!
(ALAY)



Vienna FLAMMeS (
Koglmann/
Schiske/
Donhauser/
Buhlmann/
Mautner/
Rohrer):
He Said Boler o'
(ALAY)



Ballister
+
Luke Stewart:
Clocking the Wheel
(Aerophonic)



Duke Ellington Orchestra:
From Fargo Live 1940
(ALAY)



Camila Nebbia/
Chris Corsano:
Six or Seven Ways
Towards Becoming Undone
(Relative Pitch)



Hilary Jeffery (
w/ Delius/
Dunmall/
Jeffery/
Poulou):
Green Prism:
Music by
Keith Tippett
(Discus)



Paul Dunmall:
Afraid To Speak
(Discus)



Gerry Hemingway/
Izumi Kimura/
Frank Gratkowski/
Christian Weber:
Live At Bau 4
(ezz-thetics by
Hat Hut Records
Ltd)



Albert Ayler:
Reference: Albert Ayler, Spirits & Spirits Rejoice
[CD + POSTCARD]
(ALAY)







Squidco
Click here to
advertise with
The Squid's Ear






The Squid's Ear pays its writers.
Interested in becoming a reviewer?




The Squid's Ear is the companion magazine to the online music shop Squidco !


  Copyright © Squidco. All rights reserved. Trademarks. (40634)