In 1986, quintessential maximalist composer Frank Zappa released Jazz From Hell. With eight tracks of intricately programmed music, most of which were composed on the Synclavier, the completely instrumental album had the dubious honor of being one of the first records to be stamped with the “Parental Advisory” sticker. This mark of profanity was likely due to Zappa’s war against Tipper Gore and the PMRC.
Cheer-Accident has been around since 1981, which equates to the same length of time as Metallica. Unlike the Thrash Metal legends however, the Chicago outfit (named after a Hallmark shopping display) have released a fantastic amount of albums, nearly 30 at last count, as well as several compilations, EPs and seven inches, some of which have been released by the legendary Skin Graft Records (home to Squid Pisser, U.S. Maple, The Flying Luttenbachers, Dazzling Killmen and other such wonderful artists). Continue reading
Mountain Caller’s latest release, Chronicle II: Hypergenesis (Church Road Records), is the much-anticipated follow-up LP to 2020’s Chronicle I: The Truthseeker. The London-based three-piece (Claire Simson on guitar, El Reeve on bass, and Max Maxwell on drums) perform mostly instrumental music that (so it is said) “[transcends] language and [communicates] through the universal language of sound”.
And, true to the words of the press hype in question, Hypergenesis does indeed cross musical boundaries in a way that, whilst not entirely new, feels burstingly fresh and urgent. Continue reading