Chasms /// Pale Dian at the Elbo Room 6/13

              There were two acts at the Elbo room show Monday night and it was a well thought out pairing. Kerri Lebon (Discipline) was spinning dark acid techno in between Pale Dian of Austin, TX and our treasured local symbiosis, Chasms.  The streets were unoccupied in SF’s mission district as the night seemed very dark with this persistent, icy wind. However, this weather just spurred more intrigue. There were only a handful of people that showed but the ones who did were dedicated supporters of both acts. Everyone who couldn't go missed out on what seems like the viewing of some clandestine gems.

           Pale Dian was here showcasing their first album- “Narrow Birth” that was just released a mere two weeks ago, with a successful release party in LA the night before. The dream gaze trio Ruth Ellen on vox/synth, Derek Kutter on guitar and Nick Volpe on the bass.  They opened the night up with the glimmery and ethereal slow instrumentation of  “The Avenue” and they immediately drew you in by your heart strings. They moved onto many depths and terrains.  “Evan Evan” is a perfect example of that, graduating to more intensity- back lit with a swarm of buzzing hums, painted by melodic, fluid guitar swaths and well crafted bass cameos.  “Diana” showcases Ruth Ellen’s angelic range and Volpe’s memorable bass lines that ring true to beloved BBC sessions of the post-punk era. I got the shivers listening to this track. “Truth or Consequences” takes you down a road, possibly leading you to a scene from “Mulholland Dr.”  Kutter agrees as he is often inspired by Lynch's "Twin Peaks" series. "I'm just here to add texture, not to be the 'stand out' part" he explains on his role with the guitar.  Their set finished with their first single, “In a Day”, which will make you feel like you're in a summer afternoon under a cold pale sun.

photo courtesy of Geoff Smith

                                                                                                                        
                  Kerri LeBon came back in between sets to fill the sonic space with more alien dance beats.  Jess Labrador on vox/guitar and Sky on bass are the SF gloom gaze pair Chasms. Newly signed to Felte records, they will be delivering us with all new material, tours and a video by Kristin Cofer coming this fall. Framed with the two golden dragons that live on the Elbo Room’s stage, they started up with the low tempo mode of “More Love to be Found’. Shrouding the stage in a veil of fog and illuminated by a yellow globe light in the between them, they wandered through their paths. We encountered more subtle intensities with “Beyond Flesh” and “Black Ice”, also peppered with minimal drum machine. Sky coincides with Labrador using bold open notes creating depth to Labrador’s whispering vocal style and noisy distortion guitar themes. Their energy crescendoed into a meddling of manipulated reverbed bass while Labrador went off in a gritty and emotionally felt solo with “Come to Harm”, crushing the night. It’s for those who are drawn to the noise/shoe-gaze/drone genre but maybe would like a more feminine quality to it.  It isn't as focused on devoted melodic concepts but it’s not all out experimental.  When you're in the mood to get into that cavernous realm, you do this. You go here. You go into Chasms. (PS- if you are in LA June 26 you can see them with Oil Thief at Non Plus Ultra)

     “It will be sad to leave the west coast. It’s always the best” Kutter, said smiling upon his departure as he thought about the twenty plus shows left in their tour. It was a very special Monday night, indeed. Bon Voyage, PD! and looking forward to new that new Chasms album! 

                                                                                                                                        Chasms set 6/13

Check out Chasms music! http://chasmssf.bandcamp.com

Check out Pale Dian! http://paledian.bandcamp.com/album/narrow-birth-2

——You will never run out of the Strange and Delicious——

Pale Dian returns to SF !

     Your Summer of Goth has just begun. Returning for their second-ever show in SF, Pale Dian brings you the beginnings of their west coast tour of swirling, dreamy, synth-gaze. Their first album dropped on Manifesto records titled "Narrow Birth" on 6/3 and with an eponymous tour to celebrate at that. Just a few months back, they debuted at SF's Hemlock, with their single "In a Day".  Essentially a new band at that point as they formed in October 2015, it seems they already got their shit together.  They formed in Austin, TX combining from the closures of previous projects to hone in on their sound. Front lady on the vox and synth, Ruth Ellen comments "(this project) was about finding out what we were good at. Honestly, we cut the bullshit out. We looked at what worked and at what didn't work. We decided to cut out a lot of people".

      Their first single, "In a Day" features their sound of shimmery atmospheres with cohesion and precision. Echoing accents of pained ethereal acts like early Cocteau Twins, Pale Dian brings a languid hypnosis of all their own.  Tracks like "Evan Evan"  give off starry moments in existential crisis and "Pas De Deux" catches you with more light hearted, curious and romantic beats. "Lonesome Waste" brings you back to hints of garage, with bass lead intros and lyrics of fear and vulnerability. Pale Dian performs along with the well respected female duo "Chasms" at the Elbo Room on 6/13. Do yourself a favor and go. You'll want to roll around in a field of flowers and cry and laugh and make out while your listening to them.

Here's their music!
paledian.bandcamp.com

Modern English does "Mesh and Lace" at the Oakland Metro~ 5/14

    There's always a little apprehension when a band sort of comes back from the dead to tour. But upon learning that Modern English was to perform their early 4AD album "Mesh and Lace" in its' entirety decided to take the "risk". If Modern English doesn't ring a bell just by name recognition alone, their nostalgic vanilla single from '82  "I Melt with You" probably will. The first time I had heard "Mesh and Lace" spinning in the juke I had felt like I  had discovered another dark note, post- punk treasure. "Who IS this!??" I ask the host, eagerly awaiting the answer. "Modern English".....oh WHAT?! Holy Christ, what album is THIS one?! It was tinged with experimentation and journeyed through punk and darkness with an up beat melancholy.

      The plan for this tour was to do Mesh and Lace - in its' entirety front to back. The bill for the night at the Oakland Metro was quite a large one at that, almost festival like in its proportions, featuring four opening acts with 25 minute sets each. There was the Los Angeles based Screaming Bloody Marys with rockabilly sensibilities. The Ink Bats and In letter Form representing the Bay area with guitar driven dark wave weirdness. Finally, the lead opener,  Soft kill from Oregon, bringing more of that sound but lacking "oomph".  You can have an amazing and hefty bill but to catch all those acts and to still have the same energy and enthusiasm for the main event when they hit the stage at 11:20pm is hard to pull off. You have to sacrifice something- whether its skipping a few opening acts or dreaming of your bed mid set.

      The venue was almost full and Modern English came out silently and softly opening their set with the even tempo melody "16 days" the first song off the album. Then there they were, the twitchy, kinky guitar riffs opening the emotionally charged "Swans on Glass".  The audiences energy was starting to revive. Were people tired? For god sake, bartender, we need an espresso shot!  As the set progressed along there was the sassy "Move in Light" and also revisited "Black House". Both were dance-y and engaging yet they had nixed an experimental edge that it embodies on the album.  "Jean Genie" was a sweet and energetic homage to the late Mr. David Bowie and quite a nice touch at that. Wrapping up the night with " I Melt with You"  felt like you got to experience a live time capsule of some iconic zeitgeist, pulled off with verve and integrity. I was glad to be a part of it.

The Merits of Museum Core

Current 93 "Imperium" 

         
                  Genres, genres, genres. Sub-culture.  Sub-divisions. Sub-groups. Whether it's the "drone metal" of a Sunn O))) album or the monistic, "neo folk" vibe of Current 93 sometimes they get blanketed under one term. Sometimes this one term is plainly just experimental. If you go to the experimental section of a record store you know for damn sure you are going to be taking a gamble and either finding that one glorious Nurse with Wound album or your going to be taking your chances on a band from Western Europe for a 25$ CD released by World Serpent that you HEARD was good through the grapevine from your friend who has good taste and loves Death in June. You take it home and take it out of its shrink wrap and wait with baited breath as to what could possibly happen next.  Then you find out that its a a two song album consisting of a long intro of some creaky door way and some bad samples and someone in the next room scrubbing a pot in the sink-- and its dull (but it could have been really good if you did it the right way). So now you want to turn right back to the record store and sell it back. They will give you 8$ gladly because they recognize this band from the friend they trust who likes Der Blutarsch and set it back on the shelves for 25$. Thus the cycle continues. BUT there are some albums out there that could be considered experimental under the blanket term- yet I think they need to be distinguished against the dregs. These are the albums that you keep, yet you dont always listen to all the time. They are bizarre by many means. It is not the album you throw on just to go to Trader Joe's during rush hour traffic. This is an album you revisit and relish for the day or the week. This is not your daily album. This album is a MuseumCore album. An album, an aura, a sound that you don't visit too often but when you do it is inspiring and reinvigorates you. It's like going to a gallery in a museum.

        Going to a museum is often an invigorating experience, mentally and emotionally. Despite it's contents, whether it be death or life, darkness and light. You reel from your experience hours, days or years after- yet it is something you don't do every day and if you should it would lose its merit and it's transformative power.
        A MuseumCore album is an album that will hypnotize you for a week, and then you put it back on the shelf until the next time you decide to visit. You do not even think about selling this album back to your record store because you know some day, some year you will reopen it's doors to it's artistry.

Some albums I have found to be in this experience that of MuseumCore is

Nurse with Wound- Thunderperfect Mind http://nursewithwound1.bandcamp.com/album/thunder-perfect-mind
Sunn O)))--- the Black one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC5H5gnp6uA
Current 93--Imperiumwww.youtube.com/watch?v=o8wlLL-8WDY

Educate your experimentally minded friends with your Museumcore findings. They will thank you for it. Remember they are gamblin' men and ladies and they're ready for most.

What are your favorite Museumcore albums? Would you ever go to a museum and want to listen to Museumcore tunes as you walk through the gallery? I would! Let's make it happen.