Sal P slips in and out of madness

Photos/Text by Andrew Parks

James Murphy is usually a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, but self-titled’s never seen the LCD Soundsystem frontman/DFA don smile quite like he did throughout Liquid Liquid’s special Santos Party House set last night. Perched over Santos’ mixing desk with a hint of delirium in his eyes, Murphy looked like an overgrown kid who just got the keys to his parents’ car. Or in this case, the knobs and sliders that control the subtleties in such Lower East Side classics as “Optimo,” “Bell Head,” and the song that made “White Lines” an instant anti-coke anthem, “Cavern.”

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A barely post-pubescent Liquid Liquid

Secret DFA sessions, a DVD of unlocked live footage, and more collaborations than we could possibly keep up with—these are the details that Tussle’s main knob twiddler, Nathan Burazer, managed to get out of Liquid Liquid in an exclusive self-titled interview with vocalist Salvatore Principato and his co-percussionist Dennis Young. While they’re best known for one of the most important basslines in hip-hop history (Melle Mel’s “White Lines,” which swiped its low-end from Liquid Liquid’s “Cavern” single), the pair recently reunited for their first London show ever in hopes of reminding people how much the Rapture, !!! and, well, Tussle, owe to their percussive workouts and disco-punk blueprints. Scroll down to see how you New York City folk can experience the same thing tonight at Santos Party House.

As for what Tussle’s been up to lately, the quartet continues to support its “Burn It”-approved Cream Cuts LP with stellar singles, including a “Night of the Hunter” 12-inch that sports a Prins Thomas edit …

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Fischerspooner makes us actually miss ‘Emerge’ … a lot

“The melodic one,” eh? Who do you think you’re kidding, Kitsuné? This is a Maison compilation, after all, and doesn’t Maison mean serrated synths and tweeter-blowing bass lines in English?

Apparently not. Well, not in most cases this time around. While d.i.m. flips Fischerpooner’s “Danse en France” into Boys Noize-approved electro—a sound that chips away at the pristine pop sheen of the group’s past singles—and Heartsrevolution’s  Leyla Safai howls like a hardcore punk princess atop the shimmering keys of “Ultraviolence,” most of this Maison mix could classify as electronic emo music.

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By Aaron Richter

As we all know by now, new releases hit record-store shelves and digital-download services each Tuesday. That’s why self-titled presents the following every week: a new release you’d be stupid not to own (Buy It), one worth checking out if you’re the curious type (Burn It) and something you might have heard about but probably should avoid (Skip It). Simple, ain’t it? Read more

New Order with Tony Wilson and Rob Gretton.

By Aaron Richter

It used to be that Substance was the one essential entry point for anyone looking to learn about New Order. Now, such a necessary education is a bit pricier (and much more extensive) thanks to Rhino’s two-disc expanded reissues the five New Orders albums released on Factory Records. After the jump self-titled scrutinizes the new editions of Movement, Power, Corruption & Lies, Low-Life, Brotherhood and Technique. 

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[Color photos by Andrew Parks; Black & white shots by Aaron Richter]

Melodramatic much? That’s one way of putting M83’s rather epic set at Webster Hall on Friday night. Setting things off with a carpe diem rendition of “Run Into Flowers,” Anthony Gonzalez led his airtight backing band through nearly two hours of sci-fi noir scores and widescreen pop that covered most of Saturdays=Youth and just about every back catalogue cut that matters. As sufficiently over-the-top as the whole thing sounded, the band’s impeccable mix could have been cranked up a bit. As self-titled’s associate editor, Aaron Richter, said, “Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s acoustic show at Webster Hall was louder than this.”  Because of this, the edge was taken off such gorgeous and grand cuts as “Teen Angst,” “Moonchild,” and “Kim & Jessie,” keeping M83 from reaching truly transcedent heights.

In other words, we left feeling uplifted instead of what we were really looking for: an experience that bowls us over and sweeps us straight off the ground.

As for M83’s openers, we dig School of Seven Bells‘ Ghostly debut so much that we got to Webster at the crack of 8 to catch their entire set. “Half Asleep” quickly reminded us why it’s one of our favorite singles of the year, but the trio’s set suffered from headphone listen syndrome. Sorry guys, but Webster Hall is and always will be too cavernous to capture an album as intricate and rich as Alpinisms. That said, SVIIB is a must-see as soon as they start headlining mid-sized clubs. Lots of photos after the jump …

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Wayne Coyne ponders life, liberty and a big fucking gas tank

[Photos courtesy of Cinema Purgatorio]

Interview by Andrew Parks

While self-titled already told you what we thought of Christmas on Mars—Wayne Coyne’s mind-fuck version of It’s a Wonderful Life—the thing didn’t quite hit us until a few days after we experienced its mix of marching vaginas and spot-on Adam Goldberg appearances. That’s why we got a hold of the Flaming Lips frontman soon after the film’s initial screenings—to ask him, “Why, Wayne, why?”

What we didn’t expect was for the poor guy to say he’s been dealing with house renovators at 6:30 a.m. for the past week due to the fact that he filmed most of Mars in his backyard and goddamn living room.

“I have this weird little art compound here,” says Coyne, “where my Flaming Lips roadies are always working on some project. It just never ends here.”

Indeed …

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Photo by Ryan Russell

While we hear that Pelican plans on hibernating this winter and emerging with a new album sometime next year, the band’s still plugging away with the promotion of their current long player, City of Echoes. That includes their headlining spot on this month’s Hydra Head’s “Champions of Sound” tour, as well as the Headbanger’s Ball premiere of the band’s “Lost in the Headlights” video.

Check it after the jump and be sure to look out for the cameo from a certain Juan Perez. (self-titled staff writer, J. Bennett, also contributed to the shoot. Check out his Jay Reatard cover story here.)
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[Photo by Grace deVille]

By Aaron Richter

As we all know by now, new releases hit record-store shelves and digital-download services each Tuesday. That’s why self-titled presents the following every week: a new release you’d be stupid not to own (Buy It), one worth checking out if you’re the curious type (Burn It) and something you might have heard about but probably should avoid (Skip It). Simple, ain’t it? Read more

HEALTH pleads its case for its band name to appear in all caps.

By Aaron Richter

My favorite thing about HEALTH is that they’re not ugly. My second favorite thing about HEALTH is that nothing really seems to fit as you might expect it. First you’ve got a burly metalhead drummer brutalizing the demonic rhythmic core for three skinny boys, who flail about with jerky fey poses and unleash industrial guitar that grinds like it might as well be a painfully squealing execution scene itself in the next Saw film. Then dude starts singing (an element executed much better, and with more forceful emotion, live than on the group’s muddled self-titled debut) and it’s as if he’s completely blocked out his bandmates and decided to dump a bucket of steaming angst over everything, nearly bawling his eyes out like a possessed emo frontman who just chomped a few doom pills and is convinced he’s the antichrist (or at least one of his servants). Oh, and there are rimshots.

Click through the jump for more pics from the show. Read more