Specular-D; Anna's Bones; Pissabed Prophet; Eric Angelo Bessel; Jean Mignon; Salem Trials; The Conspiracy

Naturally at the first of the year I have every intention of posting more often, I think I've said that every year for the past 11 years. But, here we are, more than two weeks since my last post. But, a day before my KPISS.FM show tomorrow (Every Saturday at 5PM Eastern, in fact).

Specular-D is a sample-based electronic musican out of London. His new release on Bandcamp You Do You has a single available, "Don't Overcome Directly." It's a trip, man:

DIY label Antigen Records out of Ipswich has a couple of new rockin' releases out. "Silver Thread" by Anna's Bones is a single from someone who may or may not be named Becky Blenko. Cool song with a cool video:

And then "Spooling," the available single from an upcoming full length by Pissabed Prophet, is the tops as well:

On April 21, Lore City Music will will release the debut solo album from visual artist and musician, Eric Angelo Bessel, called Visitation. Intrumental, atmospheric, very groovy:

Finally, a couple of websites to check out. Pop Thruster is making a running list of the Best 1000 Albums Ever. An ambitious project and I'll keep an eye on it, I love lists.

Metal Postcard Records honcho Sean Hocking has a new site for his Bottom of the Pops show, aptly titled Bottom of the Pops. Sean's the man, if you want to have any hope of staying cool, you need to follow Bottom of the Pops.

Speaking of Metal Postcard Records, a trio of excellent new releases from the best digital label on the planet:

Neon Kittens; Salem Trials; Occult Character; Cindytalk; Draudiga; Soup Activists; Abi Ooze; CML; The Wirms; The Legendary Ten Seconds; Fir Cone Children; Night Shop

New real deal, killer diller stuff (of course) from Metal Postcard Records -- new EPs from Neon Kittens and Salem Trials, plus a new full length from Occult Character:

Glasgow's Cindytalk has a new four song CD release you can pre-order on Bandcamp, Subterminal, coming out late this year on label False Walls. The available single, "Where Everything Sparkles and Shines," is 7 and a half minutes of that shit I do like. Atmospheric, eerie instrumental, and happens to be perfect for this time of year, but every day is Halloween for me, so:

Portland, Maine's Draudiga has a new 11 song release out on Bandcamp called Persephone. They call it "Americana Noir" and I dig it:

Great new stuff from Lumpy-related St. Louis acts:

From Memphis, The Wirms are a three piece punk act with a new live release, Live at Lamplighter Lounge, via What's For Breakfast Records. Very up my alley:

The Legendary Ten Seconds, who recently released that killer single "The Torqauy Sandyman," have a new folk rock album release with Jules Jones, here's the single, "They Kept on Marching." Love it:

Fir Cone Children is the project of Alexander Leonard Donat, and the new album, Today There's No Tomorrow, out on Berlin-based label Blackjack Illuminist Records, is a ripper, front to back. Fuzzy noisey psychy dreamy weirdo-pop that vocally, sonically, and spiritually reminds me of Andy Anderson's work in Proto Idiot/Freak Genes, which is high praise indeed because I think Anderson hangs the moon when it comes to who's doing what, rock'n'roll-wise. Here's "Quite Okay with Mondays":

And finally, my man Night Shop has a new track out called "Universal City." As far as I'm concerned, this guy Justin Sullivan can do no wrong. He continues to prove me correct with "Universal City":

A.N.J.A.; Rat Motel; Andrea Mazariello; The Legless Crabs; Legless Trials

The second CNQ KPISS.FM is coming up this Saturday, the 18th, at 5PM Eastern. I'll be playing some new stuff, including this new rocker from Belfast's A.N.J.A., called "A-Bomb":

Columbus Ohio's Rat Motel's new album, The Regal Sum is coming out tomorrow. The single, "Shock," is solid:

I'll be playing a new track off composer/performer/writer Andrea Mazariello's new album War Footing. Mazariello hasn't been active on Bandcamp in a while, but here's an interesting piece from 2016:

And finally, The Legless Crabs /and/ Legless Trials both have new singles out on Metal Postcard Records. Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair:

Science Man, Geiger von Muller, The Slime

Hello, fellow kids!

First up, the Science Man Nines Mecca package finally arrived in my mailbox the otherday, after an unfortunate but unavoidable delay, and it's impressive -- white vinyl LP with a really bad ass special edition t-shirt, and the gem in the package -- a limited to 50 VHS tape of videos for each of the ten tracks on the album. And it is so frickin' cool, you oughta pick it up if you love low budget horror-themed music videos, and if there are any left. The album, as I've mentioned before, is great also. 20 minutes of noisey hardcore, a great racket. Here's the video for Poach The Mind's Eye, and you can see all the videos here.

From London, guitarist Geiger von Muller has a new single out called "Space Digger #1," and it's a neat instrumental piece of slide guitar work, check out the video and you can get it pay what thou wilt via Bandcamp. It's from an upcoming album called Slide Sonotas I.

Toronto's The Slime have a new album out called Living on Borrowed Slime, it's killer diller punk -- if Science Man could be described as David Lynch-ian, I'd say The Slime would be Ed Wood-ian. And maybe I'm just saying that because there's a sample from Plan 9 in the first song, but regardless, the one two punch of the opening song on the album, "Arms Race," followed by the single, "Real Garbage," is a sweet punch in the face, and the rest of the album doesn't let up. Living On Borrowed Slime is available on vinyl from Cursed Blessings Records, and here's the video for "Real Garbage."

Alright, I plan on doing a live show here around 8:30PM CST, give or take, so in about 40 minutes, as I celebrate the 30th anniversary of one of my favorite albums, Faith No More's Angel Dust. Nothing special lined up, just going to play some cool music.

Click here to listen, or click the play button on the embedded player at the top of the blog's desktop version when you see it says "Live."

You ever seen this interview of Mike Patton eating a sandwich and being petulant in 1992?

...and here's that show:

Rothbard Cottingham Bandwagon (Texas); Salem Trials (UK); BRNDA (Washington, DC)

From Earth, Texas, the two piece Rothbard Cottingham Bandwagon has a nice new instrumental track out called "Soft." Rothbard has been steadily pumping out material since I purchased his all handpan album The Happy Ten, back in 2017, but I've been remiss to keep up. Shame on me. Here's "Soft":

New Salem Trials courtesty Metal Postcard. Just gets better and better:

DC's BRNDA has a 10 track album called Do You Like Salt?, available on vinyl, CD, and now, cassette. It was released in August of last year and I totally missed it -- they had a WaPo feature in September 2021, and a shit ton of people are supporting them on Bandcamp, so I'm late to the party here. But it's a rad album. Here's the video for "Service Loser" and then "Perfect World":

Tuff Sunshine (New York); Bunny and the Invalid Singers (Scotland); and Private Hell (Virginia)

Back after another month long break. But before we get to it, a brief grand proclamation that CNQ isn't on Facebook anymore. It was the last social media hold-out for the blog, as I stopped posting on Twitter several years ago and never got into Instagram. So I'll continue to post here on CNQ as time and inclination warrant. There's a "followers" sidebar button over on the bottom right of the web version of the blog. I guess it still works, even though a while back I got a message saying it was going away. You can use that to keep up for when I post, maybe, with your Google account. If not, just check in occasionally, or search for "Clean Nice Quiet" a million times so it shows up in your Google news feed. These are my only suggestions. There may be other ways to get notified when I post, if CNQ is what you're into.

Also, a quick reminder for those interested in submitting their righteous jams to CNQ -- please check out submission guidelines (top sidebar over to the right of the web version). I'll be more inclined to listen to your submission if it is submitted the way I prefer.

Alright, let's do it:

"My Greatest Hits" is a great single off Tuff Sunshine's 8 song digital release Yesterday Suit from label Declared Goods. The album was released back in June, but it's new to me. Tuff Sunshine is a trio from New York, according to their Bandcamp page. The album is low key, catchy, and highly listenable. It's weird to find stuff this good and it's only got 10 supporters on Bandcamp (people who have purchased the album).

Bunny and the Invalid Singers' new album Flight Of The Certainty Kids is out now on Edinburgh label Bearsuit Records. It's already received a lot of solid reviews, and I like it too. Instrumental electronic pop, Tortoise and Dan Deacon would be my touchstone for this. You can purchase this digitally or on CD. Why would you not?

Private Hell is a four-piece punk act out of Richmond, Virginia. Their new 5 song release is called Private Hell, and the last song on the album is called "Private Hell." That's the trifecta, friends. I love it, sludgy thrash punk. You can pre-order a cassette on their Bandcamp page, due out in February from Bat Magick Records:

This album has 47 supporters, which in terms of the stuff I like and feature from Bandcamp, that's a lot. It should be more, but not everybody's as cool and you and me and those 47 cool ass fans.

That's it for the time being. More to come from October submissions and other stuff I've been listening to.

Hans Condor (Nashville); Ab Ex (Dallas); Pink Milk (Sweden); Los Microbios (Vermont); Oceanography (Oakland); Women of the Night (Brooklyn); The Gents (Hamburg); Carbon Fields (UK); Naqoy (Budapest)

Nashville's Hans Condor is that now sound, man. I got a sneak peak at their new full length, Breaking and Entering, which you can pre-order ahead of it's November 16th release on their Bandcamp page, and it's a total ripper. Here's the single, "Breaking and Entering," it's a blister-fest:

Ab Ex is the new electronic solo project from Dallas-based musician Jason Hensel. Lost When Waking is 11 instrumental tracks of giallo-inspired darkwave, good stuff, check it out:

Speaking of darkwave, Swedish occult punk outfit Pink Milk have a new track available called "Here Comes The Pain." Atmospheric to the max! Music to lose your virginity by:

Los Microbios is the home-recorded project of Lance Jones, of Vermont. The 15 track Cognitive Thinning is a real lo-fi wonder, with covers of "Child of the Moon" and "Oh Yoko" to boot:

Brooklyn's Women of the Night have a new album available on Bandcamp, Sub Rosa, 14 tracks of bluesy, gritty, Stones 'n' Springsteen inspired rock that genre hops between proto punk, dream pop and psych, and Americana/indie/alt rock. I like story songs and songs about dirt bags, so enjoyed these:

Oceanography is another solo project, this one from Oakland musician Brian Kelly. Thirteen Songs About Driving Nowhere in Alphabetical Order is the album, also in an Americana/indie/alt rock vein, but much poppier than Women of the Night:

The Gents, from Hamburg, have released Multiple Attack on Bandcamp, a 4 track garage punk effort. Fun stuff:

Carbon Fields is another solo instrumentalist, I believe from the UK, and their new 3 song EP/mini-album is called Petrichor. Each song is around 7 minutes, and, per the artist, "combines field recordings with strings, down-tempo beats and an experimental instrument called a bow chime."

Pretty cool -- you can listen and download on the Hiru Recordings Bandcamp page. Hiru's Bandcamp About says: "Hiru Recordings is home to a collective of experimental musicians, noise makers and field recordists. We release new and archival sonic explorations in the fields of electronica and drone music." And as such, Carbon Fields does not disappoint:

Naqoy is a two piece electro-noise-rock outfit from Budapest. Their new Bandcamp release is called Four, and it's four noisey tracks that blend electronics, noise rock, post-punk and drone. The final track, "Fabric," is mesmerizing, and the artwork for the release is cool too:

Little Beards, Mirrorboxx, and Nervous Curtains (Dallas)

I got to listen to the new Little Beards full length, The Legend of Spectacular Living, and it's great -- the married duo from Dallas exploring dark, apocalyptic synth-pop. It's due out mid-September and you can pre-order the digital album on their Bandcamp page. I think they're doing a single release soon so I'll be sure to share that once it's released.

Sean Kirkpatrick, one half of Little Beards, is also in the equally rad dark synth outfit Nervous Curtains, and his solo instrumental synth project, Mirrorboxx, has a recent release from June, Vision Quest of the Technocrat, available on Bandcamp. Sean's a smart guy and his music reflects that. A lot of ruminating on our current (and probably forseeable future) sorry police state of post-capitalist society, and the detrimental effects thereof on people living within it. It's heavy stuff, but that doesn't make for a dry listen.

To wit, released just last week, a new single called "Human Futures Trader (Steve More Remix)." I'm certain in 20 years Little Beards, Nervous Curtains, and Mirrorboxx will be on lists of the best underground synth, electro, and darkwave of the early 21st century. If we survive that long!

But, like the man sez, "hey you, don't watch that -- watch this!"

The 2018 Mirrorboxx EP, Minimal Compliance, still remains in rotation on my turntable. I see there's still vinyl of it available, you should order it, it's boss:

A.N.J.A. (Belfast), Bill Horist (Seattle), and Harmonica Lewinski (Rochester, NY)

Been waiting a while to share this. A.N.J.A. is from Belfast and her new fuzzed out single "Monoxide" is boss. 13th Floor Elevators-inspired goodness:

How are you set for a 45 minute long prepared guitar driven dystopian soundscape? Improviser, composer and performer Bill Horist is from Seattle, and his new album, "Tastemaker Epics," is more than likely what you've been waiting for. Available on cassette from Cudighi Records for $7 plus $4 shipping in the US, if avant-garde instrumental weirdness is your bag, you gotta check this out:

Rochester NY spooky surf rockers Harmonica Lewinski have a new Youtube video out, the second installment in their "home video-style diy live sessions," filmed at their rehearsal warehouse in Rochester. Bad ass, inspiring, DIY film-making and music. This only has 162 views and 6 thumbs up. I feel like if this had been released 25 years ago, it would've been on Matador and a must-have video cassette. But, perhaps it will take the world 25 years to catch up to Harmonica Lewinski. My criticism is the lead singer's got a fun voice, and it's pretty buried here, but such is DIY. Take 15 minutes out of your day and make yourself a pleasure on the screen with this fun as hell video:

Rad Stuff from the Netherlands: Mone, Fleur, Les Robots; Lo-Fi Rock'n'Roll from Portland (Girlsville); and CNQ fave Boys Age (Japan)

I've been having fun posting, so here's another one.

Mone is a Dutch alt-pop artist. "Rat" is from an upcoming album "Crocodile Kisses," to be released on Famous Gold Watch Records. Cool stuff:

Les Robots are a Dutch instrumental rock duo who teamed up with Dutch singer Floor Elman aka "Fleur" to make a really amazing neo-ye-ye album. Back in June 2020, Spanish label Bickerton released this, and now Richmond, Virginia's 6131 Records has a stateside pressing available for pre-sale, featuring updated artwork and insert, with a newly added b-side, previously only available on a 7" single. It's great, check it out:

Les Robots' last release on Bandcamp was August 2020, Project World Control. Just absolutely rad instrumental rock'n'roll -- vinyl tapes, and CDs still available:

Portland's Girlsville has a great new release called Spoiled Legacy you should check out if you're into lo-fi alt-rock. They say it's a domestic U.S. release of a Germ House tape that came out on German label Detriti Records in 2020, and the Girlsville version adds 7 compilation rarities to the b-side. You can pre-order the cassette, but I just got the second to last one, so good luck:

I also just picked up a digital download of the new Boys Age. He's got CDs limited to 25, with only 9 remaining of this writing. Boys Age is always such a pleasure:

A Return 2 Form

So anyway. I've been thinking about the blog and getting back into it. Here's a quick manifesto. I want to:

1. Have fun listening to and writing about new music. I reserve the right to have fun and write about other things as well.

2. Help underground artists reach a handful of cool folks with a discerning ear and a wide range of taste -- and yeh, after 9 years, I'm talking about you, friend-o! Turns out you're cool af.

3. Bandcamp, Youtube, and Soundcloud links are the easiest way for me to share your stuff. If you want me to disseminate your awesome sounds to my extremely limited audience, send me a Bandcamp, Youtube, or Soundclound link.

4. I want to keep up with the blog in a way that it doesn't become a headache for me.

So after kvetching about it for a good two or three years I finally tried my hand at actual music reviews. The end all be all of that experiment was, it made keeping up with the blog feel more like an assignment, or a job, than a fun way to listen and share music I like and my dummy thoughts. And jeeze, all I wanna do is have fun -- doing something actively not fun is just not in my DNA, if I'm not doing it as a transactionary precaution so I don't end up homeless. Thanks Capitalism!

Moving forward, I'll probably get a wild hair to do actual critical reviews every now and then, but mostly I'd rather listen to something, say 'hey that's cool,' share it on the blog with a quick note on where the artists are from and what kinda music it is, why I think it's cool, and move along.

If you contact me and I don't respond or post about your tunes, I hereby apologize.

I'm currently playing Cyberpunk 2077, and really getting into it. In upcoming posts if I rant a little about my leftist politics, or reminisce about some old music video or album I enjoy, don't give me shit about it.

That's all I was doing with CNQ for the longest time anyway. Maybe there is a place for CNQ in the current 2021 music-related blogosphere. Maybe some people like the same stuff I like, and enjoy suggestions.

Since its inception in 2012, CNQ has been ad-free. So there's that.

Syf Records is a DIY label from Poland. The catalog is 9 releases, all noisy lo-fi weird shit. Some of it snythy. I've really been enjoying it, especially this:

Plaguestate is hardcore scream-o stuff from the Bay Area. At first the vocals turned me off, that type of screaming typically is just not my bag, but by the end of this 4 song EP, I was impressed. Recommend a listen:

From Buffalo, NY's Swimming Faith Records, the score to an invisible horror movie Surf punk excellence:

The 12" is still available on Big Neck Records out of Virginia:

Holy mackerel, the Mangfather Bob Katz's new album, "Six Cans of Olives" is an inspriation. Just absolute magic:

The Mangfather Bob Katz · Six Cans of Olives

Finally, don't forget to check out the new Bordellos and Salem Trials from Metal Postcard Records:

CNQ Top 20 Sunday Countdown

20. Proto Idiot: “Difficult Questions” (Fub, Rigmarole Records, 2020) 19. Shanique Marie: “Freak” (2020) 18. Máscaras: “Braidwaves” (El Morán, 2017) 17. This Heel: “Cave Crickets” (Cave Crickets, 2020) 16. Salem Trials: “Head On Rong” (Metal Postcard Records, 2020) 15. Tall Black Guy Productions: “Gimme Mine feat. 80s Babies” (Restless As We Are, 2020) 14. Harmonica Lewinski: “Poison Pill” (Human BBQ, 2020) 13. Coffin Club: “Rain” (Nowhere Nowhere, 2020) 12. You Will Flood The River: “Evil Frank Is Dead” (Metal Postcard Records, 2020) 11. Damu the Fudgemunk, Archie Shepp and Raw Poetic: “Learning To Breathe (Album Version)” (Ocean Bridges, Redefinition Records, 2020) 10. Sparkle Division: “Oh Henry!” (To Feel Embraced, Temporary Residence Ltd., 2020) 09. Science Man: “That Shadow” (Match Game, Swimming Faith Records, 2020) 08. Liiek: “Waterfall” (s/t, Adagio830, 2020) 07. Big $ilky: “Baby Shower” (Big $ilky Vol. 1, 2020) 06. The Men: “Cool Water” (Mercy, Sacred Bones Records, 2020) 05. Yuvees: “Yr Not Invited” (Human Dance, 2020) 04. Santa Sprees: “Getting Married All The Time” (Sum Total of Insolent Blank, 2020) 03. Brian Bordello: “So Sad” (King of No-Fi, Metal Postcard Records, 2020) 02. Brandy: “(Wish You Was) Madball Baby” (The Gift of Repetition, Total Punk Records, 2020) 01. Night Shop: “Waiting” (The Fountain, Salinas Records, 2020)

Andrew Anderson & 14 Friends: "Be My Guest"

CNQ fave Andrew Anderson has a new release out today called "Be My Guest." It's a collaboration project featuring the Manchester musician and 14 of his friends. Each track is written and recorded by just Anderson and another individual friend.

I'm hard pressed not to enjoy an Anderson release, whether it's a solo release (late 2019's excellent Clean Yrself, and the quaratine-inspired Music Album Idea), or one of the bands he's a member of (Freak Genes, Hipshakes, Proto Idiot), and this album is no different. Anderson is a powerful talent. If you don't go and immedietly listen to this, followed by the other links presented below, you're only doing yourself a disservice.

"Be My Guest" is freewheeling, super-fun, experimental lo-fi bedroom pop. I'm reminded of Television Personalities, The Kinks, and occassionaly Swell Maps listening to it. So good.

The 14 track album is available on Bandcamp for 5 Euros, and all proceeds go to Booth Centre, Manchester, which supports people coping with homelessness in Manchester; and Black Lives Matter UK, a coalition of black activists and organisers across the UK.

Great music for a good cause? Grip this now.

After you're done with "Be My Guest," check out Anderson's other two solo albums and these other bands he is involved in:

And then here are some releases from the artists Andrew teamed up with for "Be My Guest:"

Big $ilky (Chicago, hip-hop), Marlowe (North Carolina, hip-hop), Weird Flex (Houston, hc punk), Science Man (Buffalo, noise punk), and Gabríel Ólafs (Reykjavík, classical piano)

I meant to post for Bandcamp's no vig Friday last week, but I mean to do a lot of things that I don't get around to. Here's new stuff from Bandcamp I've been listening to lately:

Female rap duo Big $ilky's 7 track digital release "Big $ilky Vol. 1" is a must have for hip-hop fans. I think they're based in Chicago. Psalm One and Angel Davanport just knock it out of the park with this, released back in April. There's already a volume 2 out, released in July, so I'm way behind.

Bandcamp Daily also has a post featuring essential tracks from Psalm One today. But just for the record, I was planning on doing this post a week ago. 

Marlowe is also a rap duo, producer L'Orange and rapper Solemn Brigham. Based in North Carolina, their new full length, Marlowe 2, released on August 7, is the good stuff:

Weird Flex is a Houston punk duo and their new 5 song digital release "...But Ok" is a great indictment on our current state of affairs...

Coming out on 7" vinyl on the 21st of this month, and limited to 250 copies, "Match Game" by Buffalo, New York's Science Man is available on Bandcamp, 9 short blasts of noise punk that I am definetly into:

And finally, released back in May, from young Icelandic composer Gabríel Ólafs, a mesmerizing 8 song digital release of brief piano arrangements:

Bandcamp Waiving Their Vig for Friday 3/20/2020

Hope everyone is safe and well. Remain indoors the best you can, and wash your damn hands! We, humanity I mean, can whip this thing if we stick together (which ironically means giving each other a wide berth right now) and don't panic.

With Bandcamp waiving their vig today until midnight PST, I figured it's high time I pick up a few things I've been meaning to buy. I actually haven't bought anything on Bandcamp in a while. So here's what I purchased tonight:

First up, a rockin' instrumental single from Sweden's Martin Månsson Sjöstrand. If you're a loyal CNQ-er you may know Martin from one of my fave bands, This Heel, who I feature on the blog and the podcast frequently.

The UK's Brian Bordello has been busy recently, first with the 5 track Liverpool Hipster Scene EP, from Metal Postcard Records. I listened to this in the car a while back and I'm always blown away by Brian's honest, raw talent at getting to the meat and bone of a song. He followed that up shortly with a CD release from Wormhole World, a project called Idiot Blur Fanboy. The Idiot Blur Fanboy album is called "Oasis Are the Enemy," it's 11 songs, around 30 minutes of incredible no-fi. Brian is my underground hero, every release of his is as important as the last:

Also from Metal Postcard Records, and Bordellos adjacent, is Beauty Stab with a 3 track EP called "O Eden." Gorgeous, super-sexy lo-fi synth-pop/post-punk from a two piece out of the UK, and one of the members is Brian Bordello's son, Dan Shea. Dan is in the Bordellos with his dad, and was also in a band called Vukovar. Dan has a silky, resonant af voice and he and B. Preston, the other member of the duo, just knocked it out of the park with these three songs. This came out in March of 2019 and I've been meaning to buy it for, clearly, a year.

I've been meaning to pick up the latest Boys' Age releases, as he's been busy. Japan's Boys Age cranks out excellent warped guitar-based damaged pop. Here's his two most recent singles:

Richter Scale is a punk label out of the UK and you can get all of their 32 releases for $15 U.S. dollars. Here's a sampler from their most recent releases, hardcore, noisey stuff. Love it. Why would you not shell out $15 for this?:

This brings me to the end of my spending spree -- the new album from St. Louis' Fried E/M, off of Lumpy Records. That's Lumpy from Lumpy and the Dumpers on drums. We got to see these guys in a little taco place (Killer's Tacos) up in Denton a year or so ago. Impressive, high energy performance. I just ordered the vinyl for this -- I'll be hosing it down with Lysol and placing it in quarantine when it arrives:

You should also order a print from Fort Worth's incomparable Jack Daw Folk Art!

New From Bandcamp: Two New Instrumental Albums -- Martin Månsson Sjöstrand Trio from Sweden and Boys Age from Japan; and a new psych-pop single from Nomadic Homes from Nova Scotia

A few years back Kale Ogle of Doctor Nod fame was nice enough to design some sweet ass headers and icons for CNQ, really cool collage stuff that Kale is good at. His designs have been the face of CNQ on Facebook and e-mails for a few years now, but a while back I opted for a change on the CNQ blog header with some found public domain art. Tonight I did a full overhaul, channeling 14 year old Matt for some notebook drawings that's in keeping with Kale's back to basics approach with his hand-cut montages, but by me because I'm a creative type and like change but also lazy and hand drawn on notebook paper felt right. I think what I came up with is funny. Who gives a shit one way or the other tho -- let's rock:

CNQ fave Martin Månsson Sjöstrand of Dog Paper Submarine and This Heel is back with the Martin Månsson Sjöstrand Trio, and a nine song digital album called "Universum Faller." My dad taught me there's something special about a three man band. Excellent instrumental prog-surf, the Swedish trio's first album in six years is available for pay-what-thou-wilt on Bandcamp, and absolutely worth paying for (as is anything and everything Martin Månsson Sjöstrand is part of, he's a real talent). And speaking of montages, check out the cover art for "Universum Faller," too cool:

Dedicated CNQ-ers know I'm also a big fan of Boys Age from Japan. Here's another new instrumental album, 6 songs, $2.50 for a digital download. Speaking of cover art, I always love Boys Age cover art. I wonder if he does it himself.

Groovy new psych-pop single from Nova Scotia's Nomadic Homes, $1 CAN:

Experimental Music from 1980s Tel Aviv, plus thoughts

It feels like a lot longer to me, but the last time I posted was about a month ago, in mid-August.

I've posted sporadically before that. I declared the blog and podcast hiatus around Halloween of last year. So aside from three rando posts here on the blog, and some a few posts over on the Facebook page, CNQ has been relatively quiet on the internet. I can't do Twitter or Instagram, I just don't care enough. But these past few months I've been thinking about CNQ. I wanted to come back with a blog about my other interests -- video games, books and comics, politics, movies and stuff on streaming, painting, rock collecting, etc. But with these other interests, my thoughts aren't much more insightful than my thoughts on music, which comes down to a Beavis y Butthead type of criticism -- "cool" vs. "sucks."

Keeping a blog seems a little antiquated, it's late 2019 and 40% of the U.S. has been brainwashed to accept an anti-humanity ethos that I once thought was only regulated to apocalyptic sci-fi and comic books.

I enjoy typing and, to remind myself, CNQ is for me in the long run. If you're reading this and you're like yeh, and/or you're the few human beings who have enjoyed my output over the last 7 years, that's super-cool too. I appreciate it, of course.

But ultimately, CNQ is my hobby, and I'm not doing this for money or likes. In fact I think it costs me both. Hence the break. Good to recharge, calibrate, and start her back up when I reckon it's time.

So I've been thinking, a lot of CNQ was sharing new stuff I like on Bandcamp, with little to no critique because I'm not a critic, just a fan. Bandcamp now does a great job of sharing interesting music on their main page, and I've been seeing on there bands I was sharing a year ago, so I was like, what purpose do I serve here?

Especially since it's not like Bandcamp is paying me. But, it's the music that's important, and if Bandcamp shares something I did, that just means I was right in the first place, right?

And even though Bandcamp should clearly be sponsoring me, they aren't. Eventually, I'd like to get back to sharing tracks off of vinyl and cassette that the internet hasn't heard yet, as well as the pirate podcast, and Bandcamp probably isn't into any of that.

Maybe I will ramp up to all that.

I've got a few messages on Facebook asking me to check out tunes. I will eventually, assuming I decide to start up CNQ again.

In the meantime, I found this:

"Originally released in Israel in 1983 and only available in a handmade edition of just 50 copies. As such, this edition is the first widely available issue of this LP, making it available to an audience beyond the few hardened collectors who got to hear this strange experimental record back in the 80s. There’s nothing else quite like it from that era, let alone from Israel, although it does have some parallels with earlier avant garde/outsider music from the US and Europe. It may well be the strangest, as well as one of the most obscure records to ever come out of Israel. The instruments used are flamenco and acoustic guitar, flute, violin and sax. Some of the playing is free form and some is complex notation, but all the tracks contain collages of effects and noisy field recordings which often dominate the picture - bubbling water, a chicken farm, feedback, transistor radio, metal percussion, vacuum cleaner, etc. There are some comparisons to be made with Anal Magic and Rev Dwight Frizzell’s “Beyond The Black Crack” from 1976 (also reissued on Paradigm), “Mirror” has a similar wild and fried atmosphere sitting amidst the open sonic spaces, coupled with some skilled instrumental playing. A notable difference with the Frizzell is that Frizzell’s pieces are always titled. The 6 pieces here are all untitled. Amnon Raviv is still active as a musician, but he also holds a PhD in medical clowning and his main work these days is as a medical clown, incorporating smiles and laughter as a therapy to help recovering patients on Tel Aviv’s cancer wards. This edition comes with new artwork showing Raviv working as a performance artist on the streets of Amsterdam in 1984. The insert replicates the original artwork from one of the 50 unique sleeves and contains liner notes by the artist that give insights into the concept behind this album. Mirror is available in an edition of 500 numbered copies."

New Tunes from Texas on Bandcamp

A quick one off a 3 song effort from San Antonio:

Six relaxing, instrumental songs made with a SARAZ handpan, tuned to A major with 10 notes. From Earth, Texas:

All New Vinyl Releases From Bandcamp

All of these tracks are on recently released vinyl you can order on Bandcamp. I should say more often but I think with the amount I post from it it's implied: Bandcamp is the best site on the Internet, if you love new music. Usually I focus on the punk releases but for 2016 I want to branch out a little, ya know?

From a British label called Muj, I assume Matt Love is British as well. This hip-hop was put up on Bandcamp yesterday and you can order a 7" featuring this song and the instrumental from the page:

Twee-Soul from Salt Lake City:

In the same vein, from Portugal:

Melodic indie pop from Philly:

You can pre-order this two song flexi from Euro-label Slimer Records. Psychomagic is from LA and the laid-back, cool-ass instrumental second track is from Italy:

Finally, this December release from Barcelona's Nueva Fuerza isn't available on vinyl but it's cool hardcore nonetheless...here's the whole EP, clocks in around 10 minutes or under:

Thanxgibbin Mix

Still working my way thru email updates with this post.

First off, a new traditional Fangsgibblin' tune:

From a neat little collection of psych-pop songs put out by Chicago's Trouble in Mind Records:

I dig this bedroom pop From Minneapolis' Lawn Chair Records:

New weirdo stuff from Guiguisuisui, I think from New Zealand:

Incidental music from the score to a new independent movie called "Counting for Thunder." My dad turned me on to this guy from Shreveport. Per the bandcamp page, Futreal built some of the instruments used on this score, including the electric gourd, electric chromatic dulcimer, electric mountain dulcimer, and chromatic gourd dulcimer. The whole album is really cool listening:

Dan Deacon-esque tune from London, apparently this cat makes music on kid's toys and old synths:

The Bristles were a Swedish punk band in the 1980s who broke up in 1985, but got back together in 2008. This is from their latest album, released in late October:

Music video of Australian hardcore from do-no-wrong Lethal Dose Records: