Tuesday, November 10, 2009

i'm goin round in circles




Please enjoy the video for the Detachments' new single "Circles" out Nov. 30th on This Is Not an Exit. Circle Remixes Part One 12" including Night Plane remix are yes available for you please.

Let us also mention here that The Detachments are New Band #666 on The Guardian's website. More synth-pop noir! More indie-techno miserabilismus!

Saturday, November 7, 2009

little dragon



little dragon - feather

stone cold dream-pop head-nodder. Like Glass Candy/Nite Jewel, airy and glistening, with bricklaid beats. recalls "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin, aka the best song ever recorded. Thanks to Matt at Blackout Bar last night for pointing out the Swedish group Little Dragon to me, as well as their recent release on Peacefrog, "Machine Dreams." Consider "Feather" on deep repeat at A/C/K/C/L.

Greenpoint newcomer Blackout Bar has already racked up visits by a number of salted local DJs, including James Murphy and Marcos Cabral from Runaway, not to mention an enlightening set last night from Future Hunter, which yielded this delight, a sort of half-speed glistening Blondie jewel. Blackout Bar is bedecked in the old-tymey dark-wood German/Dutch gemuetlichkeit style, popular these days as a respite from the suffocating posh of modern chic. On tap are multiple Koelsch beers, including the storied Gaffel, whose crisp, near-appley flavor is well-suited for a mid-fall friday.

Friday, November 6, 2009

the essential purchase




Detachments - Circles Remixes Part One now out on This Is Not An Exit

A1 - "HAL" (Andrew Weatherall Disco Dub)

B1 - "Circles" (Beg to Differ Dub Remix)

B2- "Circles" (Night Plane Remix)




klimek





The opening track to Kompakt's Pop Ambient 2009 compilation, available here, appears in abridged form on Klimek's masterful new record, "Movies Is Magic." The album cut lacks the gorgeous, elegaic horns that intone here as if from across a great expanse, like the sound of distant vikings blowing into hollow tusks. As you might gather, "Movies is Magic" is suffused with all manner of soundtracky scraps, which Klimek has with great agility and sophistication allowed to breathe, ebb and flow like cosmic Morricone.

"Movies is Magic" has been awarded the Pleasant Cubicle award for Best New Work Music by A/C/K/C/L


Thursday, November 5, 2009

endless grift sound system - mahi dub



endless grift sound system - mahi dub

Place the wine and shallot in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and reduce the liquid down by about half, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Add one drum break and two shreds of guitar. Stir in 808 kick. Spray dubby synthesizer mist across the surface. Goes well with kryptonite.


Tuesday, October 27, 2009

fuck buttons



fuck buttons - surf solar

absolutely blistering opening track from FB' s sophomore effort, Tarot Sport. Is it techno? Is it noise? Surprise, it's both and neither. "Surf Solar," like the rest of the record, uses throbbing techno beats as the launch pad for all manner of soaring sonic explorations, aswath in Eno-moody synths and heartswollen, near-Vangelis chord changes - no surprise another song on the record's called "Olympian." Oh and dance music legend Andrew Weatherall produced the whole album. Good lord.

What's more, we here at A/C/K/C/L are momentarily suspending our policy of actively NOT posting the correct cover art for tunes. This is because A/C/K/C/L is not designed to teach you anything. In our other worldly endeavors we pursue a number of pedagogical activities, both music and non-music related, so once and a damn while we're just happy to throw weird things at you and let you draw your own conclusions. In this case the surf solar cover art is so dope that we're willing to violate our own usually cast-iron editorial policy.

true widow



true widow - corpse master

we here at A/C/K/C/L are all in favor of more 90s-style grunge rock. This is not out of personal nostalgia, because personally we were a big dork in the 90s. We're cooler now, although we still are capable of feats of dorkness like leaving the stove burner on so long that the tea kettle stopper completely melts off and the kitchen is coated in a plasticky smell that reminds us of swimming pool floaties from our childhood.

a trio from our hometown of austin texas, true widow play a sort of lightly doomy, stoned-out grunge gaze, kind of like Alice in Chains except more melodic and slower. "corpse master" is our pick from true widow's self-titled release, it sounds like Cormac McCarthy taking bong hits alone in winter. You might, if you were so inclined, trace this sound back to Earth's current sound. If Earth's first incarnation as apocalyptic drone doom spawned a host of imitators, including SunnO))), we can only hope that "corpse master" is a sign that Earth's sound today, a kind of sprawling, dusty doom-country rock, played almost impossibly slow, has been having a similar effect.


Monday, October 26, 2009

why must I be the thief?



darkstar - aidy's girl is a computer

Not only am I stealing the contents of the following blog post, I'm stealing the idea of stealing these contents. Do I have no shame? Why, oh why must I live this way? Free your mind. The simple fact is, tarwater's descriptions are so pin-neat and pithy, and the idea of posting them with brazen disregard for his privacy such a good one, I had to nick them both.

Now: the involuntary posts by tarwater series

second installment: "sure, but is it dubstep?"

No idea -- I mean, it is Hyperdub's fifth anniversary comp (one disc is unreleased; the other, classics), but it has Flying Lotus on it, and I don't think he quite qualifies. Either way and thus far: the Darkstar track rules; the unreleased Burial more than hits its unloved digital ghost quota (it's called "Fostercare") and also rules - might be the best thing I've heard by him, even; and Kode 9 & The Spaceape's cover of the Specials' "Ghost Town" should earn them a guest verse on the next Sunn)))O record. Winter is almost here and this record could be your soundtrack to it -- it's almost as long.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

do you love your robot children?




patrick cowley & jorge socarras - robot children

From the forthcoming album "Catholic," recorded by Cowley & Socarras in the early eighties but never released until now. Eschewing Cowley's trademark psychedelic disco, pioneered on landmark mixes like Donna Summer's "I Feel Love," "Catholic" pursues an edgy robot-rock sound closer to Gary Numan or Brian Eno.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

matias aquayo - rollerskate


matias aquayo - rollerskate

low-key and infectious single from Aguayo's "Ay Ay Ay" out on Kompakt at the end of the month. More weirdo brilliance, infusing edgy German electronics with all the rambunctious goof of a sunshine street party. roller roller roller skate skate roller. the album is great, like El Guincho with more digital gear and some MDMA.