{"title":"allmusic","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"automelodi","title":"Frank Alpine LP","description":"\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrank Alpine LP\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank Alpine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIN STORE ONLY\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Beyond its facade as the fountainhead of American culture's glitz and glamour, Los Angeles has always had equally, if not often more alluring underbelly. Skid row squalor, gang wars, excesses of all varieties, and the stench of vanity gone awry permeate the city, poised to overtake the shimmering mirage of Hollywood idealism. Frank Alpine's eponymous debut for \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.wierdrecords.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003eWierd Records\u003c\/a\u003e is LA noir at its finest: a frenzy of claustrophobic, danceable dread that skirts the line between outer-directed nihilistic aggression and fragrant introversion. Nocturnal synthesizers, isolated, frenetic, and monotonous, plot a destination either to somewhere new and uncertain, or perhaps to nowhere at all. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Frank Alpine is the alias of Rich Moreno, a veteran of LA's punk and darkened indie underground scenes, as well as a former member of New Collapse and The Boy Scouts of Annihilation. Alpine uses only consumer Casio synths to create a sound that's so thick and so harsh at times, to call it lo-fi would be to suggest something far weaker than the sounds themselves express. And while the atmosphere and gritty electronics might hearken to certain strains of industrial music or power electronics, the decided pep of the songs, and their almost blues-like simplicity situate Alpine's music much more squarely in the realms of punk and even old-fashioned rock and roll. Whether \"No Exit\" intends to reference Sartre's existential drama is irrelevant; the mood conjured is apropos of a post-death limbo. The album's second track, \"Heart is Grey\" finds Alpine crying out the song's title \u003ci\u003ead infinatum\u003c\/i\u003e, as if to take the tired tropes of mope rock and give them new life as the ritualistic refrain of a headbanging electropunk dirge. And the wordless, relentlessly menacing \"Through Your Window\" invites one to nervously contemplate the voyeurism suggested by the song's title. What's being seen, and by whom? Fascinating, yet remarkably uncomplicated tricks such as these carry Frank Alpine's brand of minimal electronics to areas both cerebral and viscerally primal. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e While many contemporary electronic artists' sound hints, however heavily or slightly, towards a European sensibility, Frank Alpine lives more in the realm of David Lynch's disturbed Americana, or the sinister aggression of No Wave. Somewhere between the warped intensity of the former and the acidic straightforwardness of the latter, Alpine has carved out his distinctive space: an eccentric loner squealing from inside the decay, making noise with a pulse that's paranoid and mechanical, yet unmistakably human. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Tracklist:\u003cbr\u003e 1. No Exit \u003cbr\u003e 2. Heart is Grey \u003cbr\u003e 3. Painted Eyes \u003cbr\u003e 4. Night Sky \u003cbr\u003e 5. Dark Places \u003cbr\u003e 6. My Feelings\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Frank Alpine","offers":[{"title":"Frank Alpine LP","offer_id":86652702,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0069\/6232\/products\/FrankAlpine_MAIN.jpg?v=1321048049"},{"product_id":"martial-canterel","title":"You Today LP","description":"\u003ch3\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eYou Today LP\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMartial Canterel\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSOLD OUT\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Sequence Press is proud to distribute a \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.wierdrecords.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003eWierd Records\u003c\/a\u003e release, the new album by Martial Canterel entitled You Today. Since his first live performances in 2002, Sean McBride, aka Martial Canterel (who also performs as half of the duo Xeno \u0026amp; Oaklander), has produced a rich catalog of self-released and limited edition LPs, cassettes, and compilation tracks. The carefully crafted, private, raw, and often feverishly aggressive 'minimal synth' sound he has pioneered has been a pillar influence for the Brooklyn minimal electronics scene and and beyond. Merging the influences of the first wave of relatively unknown minimal electronic bands in northern Europe, and seminal industrial noise bands such as Throbbing Gristle and SPK, with the smoothly stylish songcraft of early British New Wave, Martial Canterel records and performs using analogue synthesizers, sequencers and drum machines exclusively. Thoughtful yet distinctly danceable and infectious, this record is the apex of McBride's icily idiosyncratic sound. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eYou Today\u003c\/i\u003e incorporates bright, urgent melodies that snake and and swagger between major and minor keys. The songs emanate a subtle melancholic darkness and a rhythmic, militant propulsion keeping things moving against all odds. Lyrically, the album continues McBride's exploration of the increasing difficulty in trying to connect with real people and real things as technology renders the material substance of bodies and objects ever more abstract and distant. This yearning for unmediated human contact with the world is appropriately echoed throughout the album by the hands-on, entirely live approach to recording and performance (\"the molding of electricity\" as he has referred to his compositional technique.) \"Market\" and \"Sidestreets\" each delve into the disconcerting atmospheres of crowds, buildings, objects and intimates; the city with its boulevards, by-ways, and dead ends complicating the meeting of two lost and wandering figures (perhaps lovers?) The restrained, sensual haze of \"The Empty Sand\" conjures oceanic imagery while the title track is a lament to love lost, ambiguously addressing the listener as a memory image of potential connection and attraction.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The solitary listener can certainly enjoy the music of Martial Canterel, but its visceral intensity also translates directly to the dancefloor. Amidst a flurry of flesh in motion, in a blissful atmosphere of material connection with others, the concepts that permeate the music and its creation become a reality. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Tracklisting: \u003cbr\u003e 1. Occupy These Terms\u003cbr\u003e 2. Market \u003cbr\u003e 3. Sidestreets \u003cbr\u003e 4. The Empty Sand \u003cbr\u003e 5. Still a Part\u003cbr\u003e 6. Some Days\u003cbr\u003e 7. You Today \u003cbr\u003e 8. Secret Stores\u003cbr\u003e 9. Don't Let Me Go \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Martial Canterel","offers":[{"title":"You Today LP","offer_id":86652802,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0069\/6232\/products\/MartialCanterel_YouToday_MAIN_1.jpg?v=1301889326"},{"product_id":"the-wierd-compilation","title":"The Wierd Compilation LP+7\"+book","description":"\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Wierd Compilation LP+7\"+book\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWierd Records\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSOLD OUT\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Sequence Press is pleased to distribute the \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.wierdrecords.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003eWierd Records\u003c\/a\u003e inaugural release The Wierd Compilation (VR001), featuring 32 tracks by 15 bands which have performed live at WIERD - Brooklyn’s premier weekly DJ and live music party showcasing artists and DJs working within the post-wave, coldwave, and minimal synth genres of alternative pop and dance music since 2003. The sound of this international collection of bands ranges from uptempo analog synthesizer based electronic dance music influenced by early minimal synth and industrial dance to post-wave guitar driven music suggesting the influence of the European Coldwave and classic British and American post-punk sounds. The Wierd Compilation is made up of 3 vinyl LPs and a 7” vinyl single packaged in a deluxe gatefold sleeve, and is accompanied by a 26 page 12” x 12” glossy print book containing over 500 pictures of the bands, and live performances at the WIERD Party. The Wierd Compilation was Produced by WIERD Party founder, artist and DJ Pieter Schoolwerth, and engineered by Marco Corales at Bonus Room Studio in Atlanta. It was pressed in a hand-numbered edition of 1000 copies.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Track Listing:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e SIDE 1:\u003cbr\u003e 1. Silent Signals - ‘Exit Out‘\u003cbr\u003e 2. Martial Canterel - ‘Never Wind‘  \u003cbr\u003e 3. Sleep Museum - ‘Butterfly‘\u003cbr\u003e 4. A Vague Disquiet - ‘The Lower Lifestyles‘  \u003cbr\u003e 5. Xeno and Oaklander - ‘Non-Senti‘  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e SIDE 2:\u003cbr\u003e 1. Flesh Graey Display - ‘Under Attack‘\u003cbr\u003e 2. Tobias Bernstrup - ‘Surround‘\u003cbr\u003e 3. A Vague Disquiet - ‘Heatshock: Type 1‘\u003cbr\u003e 4. Staccato du Mal - ‘Departures‘\u003cbr\u003e 5. 2VM - ‘Let‘s Play‘\u003cbr\u003e 6. Echo West - ‘My Dream is Still There‘  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e SIDE 3:\u003cbr\u003e 1. Blacklist - ‘Dawn of the Idols‘  \u003cbr\u003e 2. Column - ‘She‘\u003cbr\u003e 3. Staccato du Mal - ‘No Veo‘  \u003cbr\u003e 4. Fanuelle - ‘Here is a Life‘\u003cbr\u003e 5. Diako Diakoff - ‘Western Ego‘\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e SIDE 4:\u003cbr\u003e 1. Tobias Bernstrup - ‘Into the Abyss‘  \u003cbr\u003e 2. Three to Forgotten - ‘Azuli‘  \u003cbr\u003e 3. A Vague Disquiet - ‘Splitting Image: Breakdown‘\u003cbr\u003e 4. Opus Finis - ‘Havoc Heap‘  \u003cbr\u003e 5. Sleep Museum - ‘Porcelain‘  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e SIDE 5:\u003cbr\u003e 1. Martial Canterel - ‘Arctic Invention‘\u003cbr\u003e 2. Epee du Bois - ‘Tracking Shot‘  \u003cbr\u003e 3. 2VM - ‘Unscathed‘\u003cbr\u003e 4. Diako Diakoff - ‘By the Lake‘\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e SIDE 6:\u003cbr\u003e 1. Three to Forgotten - ‘Ktano‘\u003cbr\u003e 2. Xeno and Oaklander - ‘Cold Forever‘\u003cbr\u003e 3. Opus Finis - ‘Scrying Formation‘\u003cbr\u003e 4. A Vague Disquiet - ‘Instrumental: 1-2-6-2‘\u003cbr\u003e 5. Blacklist - ‘Exit‘  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 7\" EP:\u003cbr\u003e A. Epee du Bois - ‘An Image‘  \u003cbr\u003e B. Flesh Graey Display - ‘Insurmountable Typification‘\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wierd Records","offers":[{"title":"The Wierd Compilation LP+7\"+book","offer_id":86652752,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0069\/6232\/products\/WierdComp1_MAIN_1.jpg?v=1301889415"},{"product_id":"sets-and-lights-lp","title":"Sets \u0026 Lights LP","description":"\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSets \u0026amp; Lights LP\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eXeno \u0026amp; Oaklander\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIN STORE ONLY\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e A portrait emerges in the video for the lead single from Xeno \u0026amp; Oaklander's \u003ci\u003eSets \u0026amp; Lights\u003c\/i\u003e: one of two separate yet unmistakably intertwined individuals. Liz Wendelbo gracefully ascends and descends a menacing staircase while Sean McBride stands patiently in the ambiguous, blurred distance. The time is warped, the architecture is unfriendly, and the relationship between both people and their physical environment is made anxiously questionable. And yet, dominating the proceedings is an air of exoticism and pervasive sensuality in the face of what feels like an impending violent event. The collision of these tensions, atmospheres, and personas is soundtracked on this latest offering from \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.wierdrecords.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003eWierd Records\u003c\/a\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Xeno \u0026amp; Oaklander create a universe where technology is beautifully timeless, where electricity pulses with vigor and effortless finesse. The standard meaning of \"ghosts of technology,\" with its equally standard images of looming architecture and lifeless shells of machines, is rendered obsolete. Nimble electronic melodies sing, stretch and glow like elegant apparitions. Grandiosity and restraint live harmoniously side-by-side, just as the dual vocals of McBride and Wendelbo weave in and out of one another, sometimes an isolated croon and sometimes a layered texture. From the title track, with its thumping robotic heartbeat to the orchestral (yet still danceable), transportive instrumental \"Italy,\" \u003ci\u003eSets \u0026amp; Lights\u003c\/i\u003e is a record that invites the listener to become fully immersed. Tracks like \"Blue\" and \"The Staircase\" are punchy sing-a-long industrial pop songs while \"Desert Rose\" uses lush synthesizer textures to rival the most forlorn folk balladeer.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The interplay between McBride and Wendelbo yields very little that is conventional, but quite a lot that's alluring. Theirs is an enigmatic combination of various sensibilities that nevertheless produces a singularly focused vision. McBride sings, \"the theater, the stage, the sets the lights, masking some grand delight.\" This is a record that makes the most of the power of electronic instruments to set a scene, to evoke intrigue, and to invite the mind to wander into those shadowy places where grand delights hide. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Tracklist:\u003cbr\u003e 1. Sets \u0026amp; Lights \u003cbr\u003e 2. Years Before \u003cbr\u003e 3. Corrupt \u003cbr\u003e 4. Blue \u003cbr\u003e 5. Autumn's Edge \u003cbr\u003e 6. The Staircase \u003cbr\u003e 7. Desert Rose \u003cbr\u003e 8. Open Walls\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Xeno \u0026 Oaklander","offers":[{"title":"Sets \u0026 Lights LP","offer_id":145696652,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0069\/6232\/products\/XenoOaklander_SetsandLights_MAIN.png?v=1319082326"},{"product_id":"sin-destino-lp","title":"Sin Destino LP","description":"\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSin Destino LP\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStaccato Du Mal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIN STORE ONLY\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Sequence is proud to distribute a \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.wierdrecords.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003eWierd Records\u003c\/a\u003e release, the new LP by Staccato du Mal, entitled \u003ci\u003eSin Destino\u003c\/i\u003e. Freezing out the heat-seeking Miami scene with his cold minimal synth for the past decade, Ramiro Jeancarlo (1\/2 of the industrial outfit Opus Finis) offers up ten tracks of analogue darkness.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Sung in both English and Spanish, the forthcoming album is informed by Jeancarlo’s half Chilean, half Venezuelan background. Pervasive throughout the LP is an aura of dread and claustrophobia that without a doubt evokes the hot, dry, lonely landscape of suburban South Florida. But beyond the dismal swamplands, it's possible to detect the mournful ambiance of cultures plagued for centuries by colonization, civil war and political turmoil. Whether Jeancarlo means to offer \"Salvation Through Suffering\" as an alternative to everything from Catholicism to revolutions-turned-tyrannies is not explicit, but the distinctive mood of dread conjures something more monolithic than plain nihilism. Therein lies the fascinating duality: \"Lost Image\" could as easily land in a soundtrack to a film about a lonesome teen in desolate suburbia as it could a film about Pinochet's Caravan of Death.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Despite the disorienting feeling of so much of the album, Staccato's own coup d'état comes in the moments of resolution where warm melodies and nearly psychedelic soundscapes counter the bleakness. On “Desespero,” Jeancarlo’s pleas to “let me in, I want in” are frighteningly forward but made inviting against a danceable and very accessible synthpop background. The instrumental “En Sueños” has a sweetly bright melody atop sinister beats that plumb the depths, while the synthesizers in “Happy Endings” happily climb into major dimensions as the signature darkness shines through. While this album could be described as Wierd Records’ least commercial release so far, Staccato du Mal’s music is rich with sonic feeling that makes for infinitely rewarding listening. Working within the confines of the minimal synth genre, Jeancarlo manages to include elements of pop, noise, and industrial that slink to the surface with each eerie listen.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Tracklisting: \u003cbr\u003e 1. Walls Fade \u003cbr\u003e 2. Desespero \u003cbr\u003e 3. En Sueños \u003cbr\u003e 4. Salvation Through Suffering \u003cbr\u003e 5. Foto Archivo \u003cbr\u003e 6. Sólo Baila Sola \u003cbr\u003e 7. Pronóstico Indefinido \u003cbr\u003e 8. Lost Image \u003cbr\u003e 9. Plea Bargain \u003cbr\u003e 10. Happy Endings\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Staccato Du Mal","offers":[{"title":"Sin Destino LP","offer_id":145702072,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0069\/6232\/products\/StacattoduMal_MAIN.png?v=1319084665"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.sequencepress.com\/collections\/allmusic\/xeno-oaklander.oembed","provider":"Sequence Press","version":"1.0","type":"link"}