Two reunions well worth celebrating:

Unrest
Jul 8
TTs, Cambridge, MA

26 years after singer/songwriter Mark E Robinson founded his record label Teenbeat, it’s still going strong. On Thursday, July 8, come celebrate the label’s bon anniversaire at TTs with the reunited Unrest, introspective pop crooner Robert Schipul, former Flying Saucer-ite Yasmin Kuhn and jaunty disco Canadians Bossanova.

When Unrest broke up in 1994, I mourned their passing with a few long moments of silence (0 BPM). They started out a thrashy, unkempt basement hardcore and matured into a charmingly fizzy pop band of the first (new?) order. Hopefully they’ll play some songs from their undisputed masteriece, Imperial f.f.r.r., as well as my personal favorite, “Cath Carroll.”

UT
July 1, 2010
The Luminaire, Kilburn

I may have alluded to some “special guests” at last Thursday’s Dial show in London. Ut — ambassadors of abstract, gritty, often beautiful NY noise — played an all-too brief reunion set of four songs: "Big Wing," "Hotel," "Swallow" and "Confidential."

For those of us who weren’t able to be there, Simon Phillips had this to say on his Myspace blog:

Not really knowing anything about Dial or Blowhole other than the Luminaire’s weekly email pitch which was as follows: "On Thursday [we have] a treat for no-wave fans: DIAL headline with Blowhole supporting. Jacqui Ham – a guiding force in legendary no wavers UT assembled Dial in the '90s with Rob Smith (ex-God), Dom Weeks (Furious Pig, Het) and Lou Ciccotelli (Eardrum). They sound pretty much like no one. Expect a night of chaos and dischord."

Well, any band containing a member of UT and one of God has to be worth walking ‘round the corner to check out... The email also promised a special guest opener. …I had no idea how special till I walked in to find UT on stage and already playing!

Damn. I hadn't walked in on them playing in over 20 years as they used to be one of the most regular opening acts at the gigs I was going to in the mid to late 80's when I saw them open for (among others) Nico, Sonic Youth, Band of Susans and These Immortal Souls. …The chance to see them again was incredible and they still sound great — a swirling hurricane of repetitive guitar patterns and obtuse lyrics that sound like the bastard offspring of the Velvets … and crossed with any of the bands on Homestead in the 80s.

Thankfully, this won’t be a one-off: the band is planning more dates now, including November 5 at Brooklyn’s Issue Project Room.

More info soon.

Ut, “Fire in Philly” (from Nothing Short of Total War, 1989)

Unrest, “Bavarian Mods (Remix)” (from BPM)

UNREST, 1993

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Dial limns the fertile territory between abrasive noise and oddly meditative controlled chaos.

Jacqui Ham, a guiding force in primal No Wavers Ut , assembled Dial in the early 90s with Rob Smith (ex-God, guitars, drum machine), Dom Weeks (Furious Pig, Het) on bass & synthesizer, and Lou Ciccotelli (Eardrum) on drums.

The music is immense in both scale and space. Exploiting tape hiss and the pitted, low-end patina of electrical interference, what is initially apocalyptically skuzzy-sounding becomes, via droning repetition and haunted keening, nearly sepulchral. (By which I mean it’s pretty damn fantastic.)

The group play an all-too rare show this Thu, July 1 at London’s The Luminaire, Kilburn. Sperm Wails and some very special guests share the bill. I suggest you drop everything for what promises to be an unforgettable evening.

Buy tickets.

Dial, “Inside B” (from Infraction, 1997)

Dial, “Psychotrance” (from 168k, 2007)

DIAL, LIVE IN VENLO, THE NETHERLANDS

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Angkorwat is Dublin-based musician Niamh Corcoran.

This haunting little track has fascinated me ever since it first surfaced on a Wire sampler last year. High time I shared it, yes? (Yes.)

Angkorwat, “Big Little Edie"

IMAGE: BIG EDIE AND LITTLE EDIE FROM “GREY GARDENS”

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I’ve spent the last few weeks in a kind of fugue state of disbelief. I still can’t quite believe this is happening. I can’t believe this is happening the the Gulf Coast again. At the very least, Katrina was a natural catastrophe, tragically compounded by negligence, ill-preparedness and bureaucratic red tape. In stark contrast, we brought the Gulf spill on ourselves: it speaks volumes of human selfishness, greed and hubris.

That it’s still going on leaves me heartsick, horrified and incredibly angry. I’ve never used this blog as a soapbox — I usually just natter on about music and leave it at that. But this issue is too big to ignore. (And getting bigger by the day. To put it in perspective, here’s a handy-dandy infographic that compares Deepwater to other epic spills.)

There are so many ways you can help.

Sign a petition or three. Reduce the amount of petroleum-based materials you use over the course of a day. Carpool to work. Tell the President how angry you are. (Better still, make him keep his promise to “kick BP’s ass.”) Donate your time or money to an organization trying to make a difference in the stricken region.

From now until June 18, Tiny Showcase is donating $15 from this Jen Corace print to the Gulf Restoration Network. Julianna Swaney is donating every penny from her latest limited edition print to the Audubon Society.

Oceana is concentrating its efforts on cleanup and outreach, while the International Bird Rescue Research Center, Audubon Society and the National Wildlife Conservancy are focusing on rescuing and rehabilitating as many birds and animals as they are able.

I won’t link to any photos, because I will completely lose it. Instead, I’ve posted the aforementioned Jen Corace print, “Down, Down, Down.”

Music: Lida Husik’s haunting “Ship Going Down,” from Your Bag. (A lost classic, If you don’t own it, hie thee to iTunes.)

Lida Husik, “Ship Going Down"

ARTWORK BY JEN CORACE, “DOWN, DOWN, DOWN”

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On muggy summer days, you want music to lift you up. Effervescent music that sparkles and shimmers in the haze, cutting right through the heat and energizing you with its ebullience.

“Super Panavision 70” is that cool breeze. With its wall-of-sound echoes of Broadcast, Beach House, and Tarnation’s lovelorn grit, this is music to get lost in. The crystalline production beautifully highlights the luminous, triple-tracked harmonies and round-robin vocals, underpinned and grounded by a slightly martial drumbeat. I can’t remember when a song grabbed me this immediately… It's mesmerizing and delightful. Umpteen listens later, it still is.

Strange Holiday is the brainchild of singer Alison Ables. Formerly of Tristeza, she’d always loved to sing but never had time to develop her ideas, thanks to constant touring. A brief spell in an a capella group led by Dirty Projectors’ Amber Coffman inspired her to move to Portland, built herself a studio, and start a solo project called Soft Fruit.

While working on her debut EP, she met Ben Simpson (bass) and Andrew Grosse (moog), who became full time members. With the addition of Kevin Davis on guitar and Jesse Robert W on drums, Strange Holiday was officially born.

You can buy Strange Holiday's debut EP, Archipelago, here. They are currently at work on their debut album.

Strange Holiday, “Super Panavision 70"

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