Alter egos rule. This is yet another alter ego of Michael Valentine West (Twiggy and the K Mesons / Lower Third). The selfsame fellow that released albums on Daddy Tank, so can I really be counted on to do an unbiased review ? No, I can’t so I’m not going to do a review merely offer up a free download from the man himself and you can make up your own mind.

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BxvmVRroKjk2OTExNjRjNzUtMjJkOC00ODBkLTgyYWEtYWZkMTM5YzUwODZi&hl=en_US&pli=1/

Kim Monaghan

He pulled off some of the greatest hacks in history, he was once one of the F.B.I.’s most wanted, hell, they even made a crappy movie based on a crappy book about him. Finally, in Ghost in the Wires, we can finally get Kevin Mitnick’s side of the story. 

In the early to mid nineties Kevin Mitnick, basically, wrote the book (no pun intended) on hacking and social engineering. His exploits were notorious world-wide, and his achievements legendary. He skilfully  hacked his way into the security systems of some of the worlds biggest, and most respected software companies, getting his hands on some of the most sensitive data imaginable. He infamously hacked the phone companies SAS system that allowed him to basically listen in on anyone, including the NSA (if only for a few seconds), and successfully vanished into new identities, eluding the law enforcement agencies trying relentlessly to track him down. Mitnick has become somewhat of a folk legend in the hacker community. He’s done what so few have achieved; actually beaten ‘the man’. Several times in fact. Ok, so he eventually got caught, and sentenced to jail with no trial (as you do), but it almost seems worth it for the sheer brilliance of his exploits.

What becomes clear early on in the book, is that Mitnick is not criminally minded, he’s just curious. His fascination in the inner workings of Houdini magic quickly turns to technology, and from there, trouble. I guess we all want to know what’s ‘behind the curtain’, Mitnick was just a little more determined to actually find out, and this is where the moral quandary lies with the reader. Technically, what he does is a crime, and he’s as bound in social contract as the rest of us; so yes, technically, he should be punished. However, whilst reading the book, you’ll possibly find yourself cheering him on as he turns the government’s own technology against them, and essentially wire taps the wire tappers. You may find yourself unable to not crack a smile when he hacks the ‘worlds leading security expert’ Tsutomu Shimomura. It all seems so unreal, and so outrageous, he seems untouchable.

But, on the flip-side, I couldn’t help but think to myself “this guy needs help”. I would consider myself a very low-level ‘hacker’. I’m writing this review on a Hackintosh, on my desk is a PSP that runs old Amiga games, and my Canon 550D runs software that lets it do stuff the manufacturer didn’t design it for; I guess what I’m saying is, I understand the fun in pushing technology outside of it’s specified boundaries, and getting inside the box. Mitnick, however, appears to have an addiction to it. he literally can’t stop himself, to a point that he ended up spending an unhealthy amount of time in prison – with no phone access – a result of getting the government so wired, they believed he could hum nuclear missile launch codes into a phone, and begin the apocalypse. I did find myself questioning why his incredibly patient – and clearly very loving – parents, never sent him to a addiction councillor.

What makes this book so brilliant is it’s honesty, and the fact that Mitnick’s life was just so damn exciting. It also acts a warning to future would-be Mitnick’s. If you have any interest in hacking taken to the extreme, then this genuinely exciting and unique tale is a must-have.

Ken Eakins

Since beginning my work with Cat Fancier’s Monthly I have overseen a huge boost in sales of cat related merchandise, whilst cats themselves have seen a rise of 24% in popularity. I can’t take all of the credit for this but I can take most of it. The only thing I have failed to secure in my tenure to date is a qualitative way of establishing which cats deserve the cream and which belong in the litter tray. Thankfully I have found a place that offers an authoritative and final judgement on our feline brethren. Meowseley is that place. Taking all kinds of data such as speed, purr-ocity and fuzzy loveliness Meowseley allows you a definitive ranking of your cat in the global scheme of cat things, affording you the peace of mind of knowing you really DO have the best cat in the world.

http://www.meowseley.co.uk/

Kim Monaghan

It’s not a real audiologist but an electronic musician masquerading as one (at least nominatively) and he has created another free album to add to Section 27’s burgeoning discography. That’s a nice phrase. Gosh I’m clever. I wish someone would write a review of me where they said such nice clever things. Maybe one day. Till then I’ll keep building up the bank of potential praisers by saying that this is definitely worth getting hold of.

Opener “Prolgu” got my attention because it sounded like something I might have missed on Toytronic or Warp in the late 90’s and early 00’s. This might sound bad but there is a definite golden era for electronica and Warp’s back catalogue from that time is pretty much definitive (with some Skam and Toytronic and Rephlex etc etc) so anything that can lay claim to that heritage is on the right track (even if it’s a lie). Qitag is also a pretty special thing, indeed it was this tune that caught my ear on the basis it sounds like a melancholy miniaturized version of Scotland. I don’t know why I think that. Maybe the barely there military tattoo style drums (possibly fireworks) that provides beats and the plaintive bagpipe sounding solo synth but it’s definitely an interesting sounding tune. Much the same can be said for the outstanding Mystic Cave (hee hee I’m thinking of something dirty when I think about Mystic Caves) which is an industrial style minimal beat with an addictive little Ethio-Jazz sounding mystic piano riff over the top of it.

So a third of the way through the album and all’s good. My first reservations pop up at this point because the next few tunes while being pretty good lack the strong features of the opening volley. I was also disturbed to find myself humming the X Files theme tune while listening to “Opasenye” which is because the opening synths have a passing resemblance to Mark Snow’s greatest work. Obviously this is unintentional but that’s how my stupid brain works. Things hit a peak again with “Halloween” which is a kind of glitch tribute to the spirit of John Carpenter’s awesome theme tune, no sampling but all the atmosphere. “9ine” is another little peak, being very clean sounding and quite B12-esque. I liked B12 so that’s bound to go down well with me, plus it has a nice little skewed ploppy synth lead. That does mean something trust me. The rest of the album has its moments but also some flaws and then it’s finished and it’s time for me to say something meaningful.

As much as I like this album I also think it could have been made stronger. Why have we got remixes on there ? Why is “Knee” so long ? I would have trimmed a few tracks off this and made it a leaner and (in my opinion) stronger album; taking away some of the chaff to expose the lovely golden (musical) corn but that’s a thing of mine nowadays and it exposes my brain for the dusty relic it is. Digital releases can be as big or small as people want them to be and “more is more” is certainly the philosophy most people seem to abide by. Final judgement ? A really good album with some exceptional moments and some skippable moments, now go and get it because its free like all Section 27 gear.

http://section27netlabel.blogspot.com/2011/12/s27-087-theaudiologist-idios-kosmos.html

Kim Monaghan

Perhaps Contraption are, loosely speaking, a band. If you count modified prams as instruments anyway. They sent us their albums over the years and always received great reviews because they’re great. So I was pleased to receive this new song and video in the run up to Christmas. Its a precursor to a new project they’re ruminating on which should see the light of day soon and a fine piece of ruminance it is too being the greatest video to feature insect on face action since Ultravox’s “Vienna”.

Kim Monaghan

If I am being totally honest, there’s not a lot to be said about this album that I haven’t already mentioned in my review of this records predecessor ‘Angels of Darkness, Demons Of Light 1‘. There are a few key differences, however, so let’s have a look at those.

This second volume continues on the theme of being a more positive experience to listen to compared to the far bleaker ‘Hex’, and ‘The bees made honey in the lion’s skull’. The album continues with the same lineup from before, most notably the striking cello of Lori Goldstein (as heard on Nirvana’s ‘Unplugged’ recording).

Now, I may be mistaken, but I don’t think part 1 of Angels of Darkness was improvised, this album is. Instead of the deadly slow precision found in most Earth recordings, this album feels a lot looser, even drunken at times. This is in no way a bad thing; luckily for the listener, Earth do improvising particularly well.

‘Multiplicity of Doors’ verges on the old, more melancholic Earth, and ‘The Corascene Dog’ retains the previous albums sugar-coated feel. It is ‘The Rakehell’ that really stands out for me though. It feels like a giant buildup, and just when you’re mind places a distorted guitar bursting through the thick, atmospheric milieu, the song gracefully exits. Perfect Earth.

This is a great  album, despite being very similar to its sister release. If you loved part 1, you’ll be wanting to go and add part 2 to your collection.

Ken Eakins

Earth are touring, go and see them:

09-03-2012 Brudenell Social Club Leeds

11-03-2012 Union Chapel London

12-03-2012 The Haunt Brighton

13-03-2012 Patronaat Haarlem Netherlands

14-03-2012 Het Depot Leuven Belgium

15-03-2012 La Maroquinerie Paris France

16-03-2012 Iboat Bordeaux France

17-03-2012 Azkena Bilbao Spain

18-03-2012 El Sol Madrid Spain

19-03-2012 Musichall Barcelona Spain

21-03-2012 L’Epicerie Moderne Lyon France

22-03-2012 Spazio 211 Torino Italy

23-03-2012 The Box Firenze Italy

24-03-2012 Auditorium Del Carmine Parma Italy

25-03-2012 Le Romandie Lausanne Switzerland

26-03-2012 Schlachthof Wiesbaden Germany

28-03-2012 Arena Vienna Austria

29-03-2012 Ut Connewitz Leipzig Germany

30-03-2012 Dobeska Theatre Prague Czech Republic

31-03-2012 Festsaal Kreuzberg Berlin Germany

02-04-2012 Loppen Copenhagen Denmark

03-04-2012 Truckstop Alaska Gothenburg Sweden

04-04-2012 Inferno festival Oslo Norway

05-04-2012 Strand Stockholm Sweden

06-04-2012 Nosturi Helsinki Finland

(all shows with Mount Eerie and Ô Paon)

Long time Secret Chief and ubiquitous all star Eyvind Kang has released a new “solo” album. I approached it with trepidation, expecting long violin solos. What I did not expect was a middle-eastern tinged, medieval / baroque thing of immense quality. Secret Chiefs 3 fans will be well acquainted enough with “weird stuff” to be able to cope with the shifts in style. God knows what someone who listens to Adele would make of this but I’d like to find out. Forcibly.

An album that has sweet riffs (albeit played on instruments I cant even name) and angelic female vocals that suddenly give way to dissonance and string ensemble drones should be easily classified as “heavy listening”, but there is a narrative quality that runs through the album that makes for a magical chiaroscuro effect (look it up bitches).

Best listened to in a sun-dappled glade with a fair maiden (or knave or whatever the male equivalent of a maiden is) on one arm and a goblet of mead in the other. Oh and if the makers of Assassin’s Creed are reading this (I know you are) this would be an AMAZING soundtrack to any future sequels.

Kim Monaghan

Remember “math rock” ? At some point it stopped being a distinct genre and got eaten by post-rock, glitch and other genres who incorporated its good parts (complexity and innovation) while pooping away the bad parts (self indulgence and yawnsomeness). Well I got sent some “math rock”. It’s not an album. It’s not even a single. It’s one song.

My review would probably say “this is the best song I have heard today”, not just because it’s the only song I’ve heard today but because I’m not willing to commit an act of judgement on a single song. So here is the song. Download it and make your own mind up and when the album comes along I’ll see what’s what.

Lazy journalism : 1. Me : 0

Kim Monaghan

Praise The J

After the lyrical murderousness of 2011′s amazing Money Boys mix-tape, it seemed that our annual fix of Rappy McRapperson was done and dusted for this year. However, after much prism-gazing from his loyal cult members, Rappy has returned with a brand new album opportunity for you all to get in on the ground floor of …praise the J.

Recorded live in front of a 60,000-strong crowd of meth-heads, perverted men (fresh from the bathhouse), disabled hookers, phone losers, and Amway hustlers; Rappy delivers a much more polished set than we’ve heard previously. But – for the veteran Rappy fans – do not panic! Dylan has not gone electric quite yet; this is still very much a McRapperson production.

This album appears to be far more biographical than Rappy’s former efforts. From his pained tale of family-contamination in the heart-wrenching ‘Mom I gave you aids’, to re-living his time as the local Amway-Mafia crime-lord (fanny pack division) in ‘Scar-Pack’, Rappy is pulling no punches this time round.

In amongst the abundance of J-praising – which peaks in the knee-worthy ‘Praise the J’ – Rappy also throws in some prothetic knowledge for his fans in the form of ‘Aflockaliptic Flapture’, which will have you popping bird seed just to ease the tension. Know your birds! It might just save your life.

The album’s highlight for me is the excellent ‘So Punk Rock Like Avril Lavigne’, in which our hero grapples with the most hood of all gangstas - Justin Beiber - in a race against time to auto-tune everything.

Live at Amway Arena is by far the best Rappy album to date, and if you don’t have it yet, DON’T PANIC, just click here and download it for free, or even better, click here and throw Rappy some coins to add to his Amway-Fanny -Pack-Empire. They got the Louis-print.

Ken Eakins

Click here to view the embedded video.

From the opening vocal sample / reversed piano to the closing piano / xylophone refrain I absolutely love this album. It was sent to us with the word hip-hop mentioned but while there may be a degree of hip-hop sensibility in there (some beats) it transcends the genre tag in a pretty major way. After repeated listens I think the closest observation I can make is that it’s like a supergroup composed of Endtroducing era DJ Shadow, Illinois era Sufjan Stevens and The Avalanches.

I knew I wasn’t getting a traditional hip-hop album when the first beautifully melancholy bit of fiddle arrived. And since when did Hip-Hop ever use a piano sound that clean and delicious with live drums ? When it comes to reviewing this album I’m like a kid at Alton Towers (the world’s greatest amusement park). I spin in circles pointing at everything, my mouth hanging open in wonder. “Curtain” is a beautiful sort of Baroque boogie-woogie with one of Hectic Zeniths many elegant, ornate and perfectly situated piano riffs rolling through its middle like a particularly attractive unicorn. The piano is definitely one of the major reasons to get hold of this album, as virtually every song has a little melody or refrain or hook that will bounce round in your head for days. It’s not all like being trapped in a sumptuous snowglobe though. “Why shoot debris about it ?” is a swampy slice of duelling guitar solos which comes across like some live version of Rick James feeling particularly horny (albeit for only a minute and a half).

It’s a short album and most of the songs are pretty short but literally every note and sound is perfectly placed. Not only can I not wait for more from Hectic Zeniths but in a busy year in which some very good albums have been released he has shot himself in to my top ten list. I rarely make predictions about who might achieve what but I pray to whatever deities might listen that the Zeniths make a name for themself. After a little research I found that Hectic Zeniths is a group effort led by Adam Prince so if you’re reading this I’d like to personally thank you all for “Zeitschtichen”, “Curtain” and “The Loneliest City”.

Get it here: http://hecticzeniths.bandcamp.com/

Kim Monaghan