“Ballads for the End Times”  is a simply fabulous combination of  Ragtime; Klezmer; Hot Jazz; Cabaret ;  and, you guessed it,  a LOT of Apocalypse Five and Dime.     I hate to make references to other bands in a review, but sometimes a frame of reference can be useful.  Imagine a mix of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Nitroglycerine, and a secret recipe (from the shed hidden deep in the woods) handed down from your great grandfather.   Imagine  if the Earp Brothers had not moved to Tombstone, but headed east, ran into Scott Joplin in New Orleans and started a stage show.  Evoking images of a dark Vaudeville out of a Peter Straub novel that , “Ballads for the End Times” manages to be anachronistic, yet curiously futuristic at the same time, and winds up being sheer magic.

“Mississippi Ghost Rag”  is a love song of the most macabre, compelling  sort.  This  brass-driven shotgun blast  of a song admirably sets the tone of the album.   The theme of water as a dark release will be revisited more than once during the course of this musical journey.   “Ghost ships are swaying in the river they’re talking to me….” “Tomorrow“  starts out with a bit of violin and quickly turns into a rousing heavy Klezmer stomp, as the violin weaves though like a Spad fighter in the clouds.  The  male/female vocals evoke the Roaring Twenties.  The female vocals are magical:  grainy, alluring, distant, and distorted like a radio station from era.   Eminently danceable, the song ends on a bit of harmony. The next tune  “Addicted to You”  is catchy, and deceptively smooth.    Seemingly simple alternating vocals suddenly emerge into rather complex near-harmonies that are simply superb.

Plaintive gypsy violin combine with rather muted brass  on “Love Life”, backed by ticking percussion and rising horns.  The pace picks up, with evocative  female vocals over a foundation of cadenced male vocals.   I can sense a hint of Swing here, and interestingly enough, even a touch of Soul!   The song ends with a bit of poignant violin. “Broken Chair Waltz” starts out as, the name suggests, a traditional waltz.  Yet the astute listener will quickly discern that this belies the sheer complexity contained here.    “Have you come to stay, my love?” Very moving arrangements include very visceral segments of quiet banjo and violin.  The vocals are magnificent,  with rather epic sounding harmonies and counterpoints.  The song rises to a flourish, then fades to a n almost operatic vocal finish.  ‘Fire It Burns” is a bit slower, a languid journey along summer roads of yesteryear.  Wandering violin and layered vocals are accompanied by steady brass, with  banjo and ukulele cleverly providing sort of a percussion effect. ‘Dance Floor” starts with a bit of vintage radio sounding violin and trumpet, then suddenly bursts into a rousing romp.   Very fetching female vocals pair up with powerful brass and percussion.  The violin reminds me of Stephane Grappelli.

“Surface of the Sand”  is another blast of brass-driven energy.  Vocals and arrangements evoke a careening, no-brakes dash to the nearest speakeasy,  filled with flappers and illicit pleasures.   I particular like the jaunty violin and percussion, with banjo and jazzy horns.   Oh, and be sure to avoid the Coppers.   “Broken Hearted” is an adrenaline fueled love song, with incredible vocals and backing horns that remind me a bit of ska, believe it or not.  Very forceful, with a dramatic ending. With a rhythm  reminiscent  of a marching band, “Do It Again” is another song that hides a complexity beneath a charming veneer.   I love the choppy banjo or ukelele interspersed amid the  strident horns.  Even with the abrupt end, the song is not quite over.   Listen carefully for an alluring  “Yes” at the very end.    One of my favorite tracks, “Only Yours” begins with very cool ukelele and violin before the brass kicks in.  Then rollicking banjo and catchy, yet edgy vocals merge into a fabulous romp that includes unexpected and wonderful breaks and interludes.  Absolute brilliance.  This song somehow manages to evoke a plaintive longing and a sense of raucous abandon at the same time.

Next we have  something totally unexpected, a cover of Justin Timberlake’s “My Love”.  The band pulls this off fantastically.   The fast female vocals have a little bit o soul, and when the song slows down midway through, the sparing  sax is perfect.   Then, everything slows down to an almost reggae sway, before the sultry vocals end.  “Let Me Go”  is another river-themed song, with an ominous beginning that shortly erupt into a Dixieland sort of romp  I love the stark, edgy, yet anarchistic violin, ably assisted by the whole ensemble.   The male and female vocals are magnificent, alternating between counterpoint and a harsh, yet engaging harmony.     “The take me down to the river / and let me go wrap my body tight / so it won’t ever show” The dark imagery of water continues with “Category of Lullaby”, which  resonates with loss and losing.    Starting slow and languid,  the vocals are sultry with a touch of despair.    At about four minutes,  the song rises to a familiar  spirited and dynamic crescendo  and   then subsides.    “you’re gone and nothing matters  alone under the water” “You”  is plaintive and very moving.    Harmonies are exquisite, and the slow-plucking banjo brings to my mind visions of abandoned fields and buildings from along deserted and forgotten byways.      “And you, well you never loved me true“

I feel that I haven’t quite done justice to the music itself.  Listen to this CD  with headphones to fully appreciate the  pure artistry of the arrangements.  As the reader may surmise, I am very partial to violins and vocals, but everything about this CD is excellent.  For a dark yet stirring musical foray into a past as it should have been, and which perhaps actually does exist somewhere within us,  “Ballads for the End Times” is just the ticket.   Hey, Apocalypse Five and Dime,  I’ll be waiting at the station….

http://www.apocalypsefiveanddime.com/

The musical mastery of Eli August needs no introduction.     “I Was Already Too Late” precedes his full length “Let This House Burn Slowly”, so my reviews are chronologically out of order.  As a Librarian, this causes me some discomfiture, and yet, as a Listener it doesn’t suffer for it in the least.    Musically, “I Was Already Too Late” is a bit different than  “Let This House….”     But this is simply another indication of the musical talent of Mr. August, and this EP is truly a wonderful complement to his full length work.

The vocals on “Hide and Seek” are  indescribably poignant.   The slow, languid piano imparts a pleasantly  anachronistic, before suddenly dropping to a lower, more strident level, accompanied by  fierce, rolling percussion.  This lends a great sense of emotional depth,  conveying the roller-coaster of feelings that inevitable accompanies any tragic (or even not so tragic) loss.

‘Atmosphere”  has the typically heartfelt vocals that fans of Eli August have come to appreciate, direct and simple, yet filled with a myriad of conflicting nuances.  There is regret and pain, along with an unflagging hope that we instinctively realize is futile.  But buried deep within lies  a faint glimmer of possibility.    The ukelele is fabulous, with a very evocative Americana/Folk feel that turns into a nearly rollicking, travel ling cadence, enhanced by a faint “whip” in the background.    Meanwhile, the upright bass provides a dark , melancholic undercurrent that is a perfect counterpoint.  “How can I get up again without you here/there’s no dividing lines anywhere in the atmosphere“

“Vanish” changes the pace, with a more ‘contemporary’ sort of stride.  Eli’s vocals are faster, but very visceral and gripping  in their progression.  The echoed soaring vocal in the background is a very nice touch.  The upright bass edgily balances the   guitar, while percussion is steady and sets the pace.  “Let me vanish in the still night/there’s no reprise or reconciliation in your eyes…”

‘I Did Not Leave the Door Ajar”  begins with quiet  riffs that, incredibly, could easily be Punk.  Then they shift into Eli’s very compelling vocals, buttressed by a high, militaristic percussion.  the vocals drop, then reemerge stridently.  ‘Why is there someone in my house?/There are secrets I cannot let out”. The whole song rises to a magnificent percussion-driven cacophony, then suddenly subsides to a low strumming guitar that  ends on a chord change that somehow reminds me of Early Music.

“Lost Control”  is another song of loss.   “And that look in your eyes/I know there is some else on your mind“   The catchy ukelele and the timbre of Eli’s vocals have a tone of resigned acceptance.  They are filled with regret for what might have been, but deep down is the knowledge that it could never have been so.  I love the “chop” of the ukelele on this song.  The clarinet sets the song apart, and is just fantastic, magically weaving along with the vocals and uke, alternately evoking a klezmer an then jazzy air, before the song ends on the final, lingering notes of the ukelele.

“I Was Already Too Late” is a must-have for fans of Eli August and anyone who appreciates well crafted, evocative music that is deeply personal yet not contrived.   To paraphrase a  newspaperman of the late 1800′s, “By all means, get it!”

http://www.eliaugust.com/

This compilation of harsh ebm/dark electro/industrial was released as a free download earlier this year by the new Swedish label Twisted Flesh Recordings, which was  created by Fredrik Croona (Project Rotten/ex-Menschdefekt) and Jürgen Mayer.    Abruptly, the music community was stunned back in September by the announcement that the label had  come to an end.

As readers know, this is not my preferred genre, and I generally have little affinity for it.  Well, OK, even “little” might be an exaggeration.    (Fans of electro/Industrial should keep this in mind when reading here, and  you will perhaps not be as offended.  Make no mistake, you  will be offended.    But, hey, you know me… ) Since this is a comp, I will list both the artist and the track in the review.

“C-lekktor – Living Dead” is pretty standard electro fare.    But the 4X beat is nice and understated compared to a lot of “club” electro, and it’s not quite as bleepy.    The spoken background vocals are dark and interesting.   I do like the sort of futuristic ending.

“D-ToX – No Sympathy”  is bit bleepy for my taste,  but the synth progressions are sort of edgy.

I actually like  “ES23 feat Project Rotten – This is anarchy”  for some reason.    There is kind of a galloping effect that I find mesmerizing , along with a “computer” type sequence that reminds me of the Terminator.   Then a segment of  dark computerized vocals are  cool.

I can do without the spoken intro and samples  for “Sadiztik Injektion – Realize the suicide (Aggrotrance remix)” .  But into the song, there is a hard synth foundation that is catchy.  Then towards the end, the experimental effects are interesting.

“Diversant 13 – Silent Night 2010″  reminds me of horror movie soundtracks.   Definitely a dance-floor track.  At about three minutes, the ambient sort of vocalizations are interesting.

Being a history buff, the quotation of Gen. Bernard “Monty” Montgomery from before the Second battle of El Alamein in  “Uberbyte – Hell Alamein” caught my interest. The song is a bit too synthy for me in places, but has a  cleaner, tighter sound than most, including  the vocals.  There is some nice under-layering,  and the synth does in fact vary, moving along with  the very compelling undercurrent of the song.   Just for academic purposes, I’d like to add that El Alamein would be more appropriately “hellish” from the German point of view.  Outnumbered in every category,  no reserves, little fuel, under relentless Allied air superiority, and ordered to stand fast while his forces  were ground down,  only a skeleton force got out of the maelstrom, with the bulk of the Italian  infantry left in place to die or go “into the bag”.

As the reader may have picked up on, I’m not real big on spoken intros.  Once you get past this on “Diverje – Suffer this world – (Centhron rmx)”, it goes into aggro vocals, a driving 4X beat and dance synth.  Underneath this somewhere there is a discordant sort of keyboard sequence that I like.

“Suicidal Romance – S.H.R” is just too bleepy for my taste, and the beat is too overpowering. Of course, as an electro dance track, this is the ticket.    At about one minute into the song, there is are some ethereal female vocals that I like, these recur a couple of times.   Then later, evens out with some very “sharp” synth that is  interesting.

“Say just words – Abandonment of God”  has typical distorted, unintelligible vocals, and a fast dance synth.   There are some operatic background vocals or vocal effects that I enjoy., especially how they slowly rise in intensity    This song also has a particular  sort of rough electronic effect that I first heard on an album by MissFD which I like.  The song fades on the soaring operatic, most effectively.

“Electric Breathing-Zerfall”  I initially did not like this song at all, due to the initial  “skree” type synth, which I tend to despise.   However, once the song began, I found that this is sot of submerged in heavier electronics which I sort of enjoy.  And then there are some  higher electro sequences which remind me of Kraftwerk’s “Pocket Calculator”.   Then, even the vocals are weaved into a heaver, complex sequence with orchestral synth arrangements and the sharp keyboard that is very rosining.

For some twisted reason that I can’t even hope to explain,  I love “Suono – Jungle”.    There is a kind of trumpeting dinosaur-like sound that grabs me.  I also like  the  military-cadence vocals.  Then a synth sequence that reminds me vaguely of the Far East, somewhere on the Road to Mandalay perhaps.  The beat and the snth loops are expertly covered by layer effects so that they are not overbearing.   If I were to dance to any electro/aggro it would be this.  (Heaven knows what THAT would look like!)

“Syndrome X209 – Sexuality”  has an industrial, mechanical foundation that varies in time, and I found it to be somewhat addictive.  It slows to a stop, and then starts up again, which admirably served to break up the track and make ti more interesting.

“Angel Theory – Memories of you [touched by Stahlnebel & Black Selket]“  also has a heavy mechanical repetition that I find far preferable to the annoying “doosh-doosh-doosh” of most dance music.  The vocals are ominous and darkly pleasing, as well as being intelligible.   There is some”skree” synth that starts at about three minutes. But this ends and the song gets back on track.   ‘The further we do/the deeper we sink/come take my hand…” the vocals get more strident and nicely layered,   and the song ends on an” electric” note after an echoed vocal sample.

“Menschdefekt – The End”  has a some “skree”, but this has a slight echo which is mitigating.  The track has a very heavy, measured, militaristic tread which I like.   I enjoy how the song grinds to a stop and then resumes the “march”.  Despite various layers of effects, there is a very clean sound here.

There you have it.    For whatever it may be worth.  If nothing else, it’s the journey that matters. (Especially if there is a Denny’s along the way.)   Whatever your preferred genre of music,  It is sad to see the demise of  Twisted Flesh Productions.  Putting out a free sampler of new underground music was very commendable. This was in keeping with the highest tradition of community that was always a hallmark of the old school. This helps the bands and fans alike.  Like we say, “It’s all about the music…”

Each of the bands appears to have their own Myspace profiles, where readers can find more information.  This comp may still be available for free download on the following page, look for a link at  the very bottom.

http://novafuture-blog.com/2011/02/10/out-now-various-face-the-darkness-twisted-flesh-recordings/

Isolation Division is the solo project of Mat Thorpe.  Mr. Thorpe is the bassist with Northern Punks, The Dangerous Aces, Distorted Pictures, and he actually performed as the  bassist for The March Violets reunion gig in Leeds 2007.  Ah, I knew there had to be a connection to the Goth scene in there somewhere.  But “Sotto Voce” is not precisely Gothic. Though I discern some influences from Joy Divison in there, the CD reminds me much more of bands like Echo and the Bunnymen and the Comsat Angels, with an updated Indie kind of feel at the same time.

The short, somewhat eerie l introduction of “Sotto Voice”  leads directly into   “Merry Go Round (My Spring Will Come)” which is perhaps my favorite song on the CD.  With wall-of-sound jangly post-punk guitars and subtle tribal percussion that hovers right under the impeccably layered vocals, this is a phenomenal song that simply grips the listener before ending with a spate of drumming and appropriate carnival effects.   This song has run through my head for days at a time.

“Cross My Heart” is a bit heavier.  Quite edgy, nearly deathrock guitar and frantic drumming support the superb vocals. Unexpectedly, sharp guitar riffs jar the listener out of their comfort zone , and then the sond fades on an disquieting note.   “Valentine” has lower, ominous vocals, complimented by the darker tone of the guitars.  A guitar solo mid-way through the song strikes at exactly the right moment.  This is a very visceral song, tinged with regret, yet powerful a the same time.

Next is a fine cover of “Tears” by the Chameleons.  Jaunty and soaring,  yet profound at the same tine, the song is driven by steady percussion and layered guitars.  A bit more dramatic, “Triad”  has some rather epic sounding riffs interspersed among nearly spoken vocals.  “Mr. Magpie”  is more bass driven, with very cool slide  effects and vocals that are intense without being strident.

“Winter Walking”  is very evocative, with swirling electro effects and understated guitar that suddenly emerges from out from under the intense vocals.   The song ends with  the evocative echo of footsteps.     “I can feel your heartbeat pounding…“        Next, “Mother” begins with wonderfully slow guitar, and slightly distorted vocals. The echoey effect of the vocals and the slow, yet razor sharp guitar lend a disquieting air, which is then  heightened by whispered vocals and the eerie sounds of a baby crying.

“Sotto Voce” is an incredible CD that becomes more profound with each listen.  The arrangements are masterfully done,  and each song is mesmerizing in it’s own way.  This CD is highly recommended for fans of post-punk, Indie, and anyone who appreciates well crafted music.

http://www.myspace.com/echotestband

http://www.facebook.com/IsolationDivision

The original article I wrote about Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash appeared in 2002 in an ezine called “Changes In Time” based in South Florida, commemorating the death of Waylon and the 70th birthday of Johnny Cash.  Some readers of CIT were upset that an article about Country singers was appearing in a Goth ezine, but the Editor graciously stood by the article.    When the death of Johnny Cash followed a year later,  it seemed like an era was over.    Nearly a decade after their deaths, Cash and Jennings still cast a giant shadow over the music world.

I certainly don’t fall into the common trap of calling something “Goth” just because  I feel some affinity with it, but I do  believe that the same principles  that led to the creation of the Goth Culture are shared by other people, too, and this makes us all sort of comrades-in-arms.   I first discovered the music of Outlaw Country when I was a teen.   A good friend of mine named Farley Howard introduced me to singers like Waylon, Willie, and David Allen Coe. I’ll probably lose what few Goth points I have left, but the first concert I ever attended was when Farley and I went to see Willie and Emmylou Harris perform at the Greensboro Coliseum.   (Farley later got a full scholarship from Harvard.   I got a bus ticket to basic training at Fort Sill, OK.)

The Outlaws gave me the first intimation that there were alternatives to the pop mainstream.   This was probably why going even further was easier when I discovered Punk and, later, Goth.     You will seldom hear singers like Waylon Jennings or Johnny Cash on today’s watered down, pop-country radio.    Yet they packed venues to the very last, and their album sales roll on today, regardless.

Jennings played bass for his childhood friend Buddy Holly during 1958-59.  Jennings had a close brush with fate in 1959, when he was scheduled to be on a plane chartered by Buddy Holly.   J.P. ‘The Big Bopper” Richardson was ill, and Jennings willingly let Richardson have his seat.   The plane crashed, taking the lives of all aboard.  Later, he roomed with fellow nonconformist Johnny cash.  Refusing to change his style from Country to Pop as the owner wished, Jennings left A&M records for RCA.  In the 1970′s, Jennings finally broke completely with traditional country music. Instead of the usual boring, weepy strings, Jennings added the electric bass with blues and rock rhythms, creating a sound that later became known as country-rock, embodied by performers such as the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Steve Earl.  Kicking a cocaine habit in the eighties, Jennings founded the Waylon G.D. Jennings Production Company.

Wearing a black cowboy hand and leather vest, Jennings looked and sounded like no one else.   Fiercely independent, Jennings steadfastly battled the record companies for control of his music.  He refused to record with the usual session musicians, and was highly critical of the Country Music Association.   A champion for lesser known song writers, Jennings embraced the Outlaw movement created by people  like Willie Nelson, who had fled Nashville for the freedom of Austin, Texas.

Typically, Jennings was the first to call fellow performers to task when the scene got out of hand, condemning their excesses and posturing in songs like “Luckenback, Texas”, and “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?”  Jennings felt  a strong sense of community, refusing to attend award ceremonies because he felt that country musicians should not compete with other.   True to form,  when he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame,  Jennings sent his son to pick up the award, joking that the audience wouldn’t want to hear what he had to say anyway.

Johnny Cash was known as “The Man in Black”, and there has been no one else quite like him.  Like Jennings, Cash was a maverick who openly disdained the conventions of Nashville music.   Along with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley, Cash signed on with Sun Records, home of the original Rockabilly sound.  In the early ’60′s, Cash collaborated with Bob Dylan and even appeared on Dylan’s album “Nashville Skyline”.    He wore a long black coat, in stark contrast to the gaudiness of most Country performers.   In 1979-80, Rockabilly emerged again from the ranks of Punk, eventually spawning Psychobilly.  Punks were trekking down to stores like Rock On Records in Camden Town to snap up records by Lewis, Perkins, Presley (especially the  “Sun Sessions” LP), and of course, Johnny Cash.  “Brand New Cadillac” from the Clash’s “London Calling” LP, was nothing less than classic Rockabilly.  From there it was a straight line of descent down to the Cramps’  “Sheena’s in a Goth Gang” of 1997.

In 1985,  Cash and Jennings formed The Highwaymen along with fellow Outlaws Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.   From 1985-1995, they released three albums: Highwayman, Highwayman 2, and The Road Goes on Forever.    Cash’s “American Recordings”, released in 1994, has a cover that is more “gothic” in a purely American way than any other album cover.   Accompanied by only his guitar, Cash’s voice rolls out of the darkness like the approaching Apocalypse, not the special-effects laden razzle-dazzle Apocalypse of today’s cyber world, but the Apocalypse of old-time preachers, mountain bards, and nightmares of our childhood.  Scorned by  country radio,  “American Recordings” impressed fans old and new, as did the follow-up album “Unchained” in 1996.  Cash’s albums included covers of songs by such diverse artists as Soundgarden and U2. In 2000, Cash included an impressive rendition of Nick Cave’s “Mercy Seat” on the album “Solitary Man”.    Later, he evocatively covered Nine Inch Nails “The Hurt”.

I’ll never forget standing on a street corner in Camden Town in 2002, listening to Cash’s rendition of “The Hurt” coming from a nearby store.   When I was in High School, I was in a very short-lived band and sang “Folsom Prison Blues” in the school talent show and later during an appearance on the local radio station.   Never in my wildest, most demented  dreams did I ever imagine that nearly thirty years later I would be in the UK, dressed in black, listening to Johnny Cash.   But somehow it was fitting.

According to Cash, his dark clothes and stark music were symbolic of the poor, the dispossessed, and the unfortunate.  Over 50 years after the release of his first single, the enigmatic Cash remains an original who has never been copied.  Musically, he has influenced scores of artists across a broad spectrum of musical styles.   On the liner notes for ‘The Essential Johnny Cash”, Cash is praised by such diverse figures as Leonard Cohen and   Goth-poet Nick Cave.

To paraphrase David Allen Coe, if that ain’t Goth, you can kiss my….