Lamborghini Crystal's Better Than The New Stuff

After really diggin Helm's Silencer from last year I have to say Impasse their new reissue from 2008 is pretty disappointing. It just drones on in a very unoriginal manner. Where's the beats? Generic drone is happening now, well then and that was a while ago. Why? Who really cares? Clay Rendering's new 12" Waters Above The Firmament was described as recalling The Cocteau Twins, Cranes and Sonic Youth. Was this supposed to entice me or make me wanna throw up. How many more bloody bands are gonna sound like The Cocteaus or Sonic Youth? I think if I read an artist was influenced by Paul Young I'd be more likely to check that out. Hey I loved early Cranes, do I wanna hear someone rippin them off over 20 years later?

Is that JC Peavey in the corner?

I came across a couple of Lamborghini Crystal tapes I had not heard today. It's pretty easy to write off James Ferraro's work as ephemeral due to its abundance and his post Far Side Virtual slide into crapness. However there was once a time when it was very exciting to hear what his latest 5 albums were like. The releases from Lamborghini Crystal I already had 1992 Cool Runnings,  Alien Microwave, Draco Shop Bop Volume 1, Dial 747 Creepozoid and Roach Motel are all top notch. These were peaks in his ridiculous career that were the foretaste of his classic, probably greatest solo outing Night Dolls With Hairspray. Lamborghini Crystal was a duo though that also contained JC Peavey although he could very well be fictitious. Would I dig these two seven year old tapes now that his moment had passed and his reputation was dwindling? Fuck yeah because they're the biz.

Clock Tower Acid could have almost been released on GhostBox. Half of it sounds like early Belbury Poly crossed with later Advisory Circle. It's got a real Euro-library feel. Come to think of it, it might not even be him at all. It could be just some wholesale appropriation of a 70s synth artist. Anyway the other half is like a malfunctioning Ariel Pink robot attempting cartoon noise rock. To top it off it's all recorded on the world's most decrepit tape.

Smoking Out His Majesties UFO is an album that sounds like it was made by a band that only appeared on Z grade soundtracks of straight to video movies from the 80s.  This is a trip that is very not quite right, sounding like they'd dropped acid and recorded it in an amusement arcade. Side 1 is a particularly splendid slice of chopped up baby gonzoid electro space psych.

I am pleased to read on discogs there's 3 more tapes and that I'm still yet to hear. How long will it take to track these down?

Smoking Out His
Majesties UFO
(2007)

Controversy

Created a little controversy on Twitter and over at The Quietus all about Ariel Pink. I just think he's had all these theories thrust upon him and in one interview was quite frustrated by it all saying he just wrote songs whether they were retro, now or future he couldn't care less. Finally got the vinyl of Ariel's Mature Themes today and there is a lyric sheet but I have not read it yet. Geneva Jacuzzi co wrote Kinski Assassin with Ariel which I didn't know. I may check out out what he says about North Korea in Farewell American Primitive but that's about it.

*Listening to Lucifer by Peaking Lights I was thinking they sound like no one else really which is incredible  in this day and age, but there was one tune on the last record that had a little keyboard interlude (of like 25 seconds) that had me flashing on Laika's Sound Of Satellites record. Then there is another one on Lucifer which had me thinkn very vaguely of Moonshake/Laika, all very tenuous links. Like saying someones similar because they use the same guitar. They are very allusive group! You kind of think surely there's been 10 groups like this before but there haven't.

**Been listening to both the Gary War LP and The Human Teenager one and they are both fantastic. The way they try to be Chrome but just end up sounding like a kids version which is even better because we've already had one Chrome. I think it's pop music. Gary's Pleading For Annihalation could be from a prime era Chrome LP. This Ilitch 10 Suicides record that I only discovered this year seems to have been a secret influence on a lot of this American underground stuff. I think I said at the time Oneohtrix Point Never must be a fan and you can add Gary War and Oneohtrix and War collaborator Taylor Richardson as fans. Then I put on Lamborghini Crystal's Roach Motel and well they got a little closer to Chrome's dementia and Human Teenager were probably listening. Fuck me Roach Motel is one of Ferraro's best efforts, really grimy (not in the D.Rascal sense) and mental.

Chrome-A couple of funny guys.



2008 Classic
Roach Motel - Lamborghini Crystal