ftse 100! really thats quite interesting. i used to know ben the guitar player and singer. they are quite good, but very trumans water.

i would add our bed is green to the list of good albums by them. It got rereleased on kranky in 2005 as a 2xlp.

I don't get how Galaxie 500 or slint are thrown in there, but maybe i misunderstood something .. .

the cover is a dark red(or bordeaux i think) and i'm sure the album is live.Any help?

...don't know that one either.

Here's a quote from the Wholly Other website...
"To say that the words "unique" and "singular" are over-used in describing music is to state the obvious. To apply these words to the sounds created by the various duo/trio configurations of the Texas group Charalambides over the last decade plus would be understatement. To be sure there are numerous antecedents to their music; to deny this of any artist's work would be akin to saying that they are deaf. But they have surely broken new ground in the primitive/folk/mystic/improv/psych valley in which they toil. As Marcus Boon wrote in The Wire; "...here is a truly 21st century experimental ethnic music that explores quietness and stasis... in the same way that musicians in the second half of the 20th century discovered amplification, noise and speed.""



I love them... it all goes back to their duo performance at the 2004 ATP... they just completely haunted me for months afterwards. They were the first band on in the afternoon and I was hung over and I guess, incredibly receptive to the empty and open sounds that they were making... I'll never forget it... in fact shivers run up and down my spine in remembrance. I already liked them, but after experiencing their live trance like witchcraft, I was completely hooked... for me Joy Shapes is one of the greatest albums of this century so far... it's so brittle and spare and beautiful, there is nothing else like it. I'm also reminded of Antonioni's Zabriskie Point for some reason... they just connect me to that zone. The new album is very different in feel to Joy Shapes... but no less enjoyable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glice Mmm. I think it's one of those things (where's my wankers hat?) where it sounds like a lot of things to those of us who remember/ half-remember/ investigated recently the likes of Damon and Naomi (fuck you low, Galaxie 500 were there first) or the Cocteaus whereas the young 'uns it sounds new to. Ok, that's a wanker's comment, I apologise.

Glice baby... I understand what you're trying to say but I don't think that you can apply this hypothesis to Charalambedes...:)

...don't know that one either.

Here's a quote from the Wholly Other website...
"To say that the words "unique" and "singular" are over-used in describing music is to state the obvious. To apply these words to the sounds created by the various duo/trio configurations of the Texas group Charalambides over the last decade plus would be understatement. To be sure there are numerous antecedents to their music; to deny this of any artist's work would be akin to saying that they are deaf. But they have surely broken new ground in the primitive/folk/mystic/improv/psych valley in which they toil. As Marcus Boon wrote in The Wire; "...here is a truly 21st century experimental ethnic music that explores quietness and stasis... in the same way that musicians in the second half of the 20th century discovered amplification, noise and speed.""

I might be getting confused because as i said i don't know them much but at least the back sleeve i'm sure was of a darkish red colour.I picked it up while i was doing some casual work at Music Exchange as someone left the record amongst the shop's cds .I put it on as i had read that they were meant to be a very good band but still it didn't do it for me,no.They must be a good band if so many people revere them that much,i'm not contesting that in the slightest,but for the little i've heard i was pretty much let down.Since you like them so much and you have fine taste(thanks for directing me towards that lonely Espers record,i've enjoyed it a big deal)i'll explore them a bit more.

My pleasure... I'm pleased you like it.

I'm listening to 'a vintage burden' right now. I'm sorry, I'm still not seeing what the fuss is. It's probably a good thing that I'm going back to it, but I'm still not hearing anything exceptionally amazing. It's good, but it sounds like a lot of things. Which is no bad thing, let me re-emphasize. I'm just a little let down because me expectations were different. Perhaps I'll like it for what it is rather than what it isn't someday...

i haven't heard vintage burden yet, but i heard a couple of snippets and it sounded not as good and also different to their previous stuff, i'm surprised you don't like them actually as i think records like joy shapes or live/dead have a certain similar quality to I Saw It! That Which Before (paricularly track 4), in that they have a similar sense of space and stillness to their music as haino does in his.

Fuckin' A. Yeah, this record is really... average. I'll download joy shapes. And if you're wrong, I'm coming to London to have your balls off. And not in a nice way.

Edit: The ball-cutting applies to both of the above, by the way.

You must not be looking in the right place for live music shows, I guess. I've heard of shows happening in Cincy and northern KY. If there aren't enough happening for your taste, get a house with a basement and throw your own.

Charalambides are a band who enjoy playing in people's houses. I've had them in my living room twice, plus Tom Carter solo one other time, and Christina solo or with guests has played at other friends' houses in Davis, plus even an impromptu show in the hallway of a building here at UC Davis (that was recorded on her ghostly awesome "We've" CDR with Gown).

Since the divorce of Tom and Christina, I've sensed a lot more tension in their performances. They build up to "ferocious" even...pretty awesome!

Tom's coming to Davis in August again to play some trombone for us in a hole in the ground....yes, literally a hole in the fuckin' ground!

Take that as a suggestion to make your town have more choices than just Brittney Spears.

Ok, so I downloaded to it. It's good. It is good, I will give you that. Yes. In fact, a couple more listens and I might like it more. Yes.

The problem is I put a track off the Tony Conrad/ Faust album on next on the playlist. Which was devestatingly brilliant.

I have revised my opinion of Charalambides, and I'm going to see them tomorrow night thanks to you people. I'm still not entirely sold, but I can hear that there is something there that warrants the praise.

So we'll call that a draw, and we'll all lose a ball each. Agreed?

I hear tell they are playing at a louder volume these days.
Which means you will be able to hear something.

i'm going to see them on saturday with steffan basho junghans, i'm excited (to see christina's perching boobs again)

Sneak in a recording device for the Basho-Junghans set!

Tom has a ginormous beard now.

yeah i suppose you wont have to pay all that money for strippers. well maybe you will after the show.

is she involved with that elf bloke now? if i was drunk enough i'd try my hand though.

sadly, due to financial dire straights i shall not be visiting any stripping establishments soon.

Elf bloke? Andrew McGregor aka Gown?

isn't he called be'irth or beren something?