After one of Fletcher Pratt’s latest sets, Guy from free grind band Tu Sufres (among other bands) commented that he dug all of Pratt’s set, except for the beats, because he doesn’t like beats at all.
“Really?!” said I. “I really enjoyed the beats.”
“Yeah, see, that’s why I don’t like beats,” he quipped. That motherfucker.
Either way, here’s Pratt’s newest release off his Soundcloud account, and, in Guy’s face, it starts with a beat. It, however, isn’t something to dance to–it’s definitely 5/4. Then, as the drums punch away, drones and twinkles entwine the piece until that sure beat speeds up, stays at double speed, and dissolves into a series of glitched-out purgatories.
It’ll be on a limited edition CDR of 50 titled DEATHDUBS on Snapped in Half. You can see Pratt play in his band Kkraakk!! open up for B.C.’s Anha this Friday at Freud’s Bathhouse and Diner.

Driving Off a Cliff by fletcher_pratt

The third compilation of obscure ’80s disco by DJ and musician Dompter Mooner–a.k.a. Elaste–is a CD that’ s outrageously fun and enjoyable. Super Motion Disco is acollection largely inspired by the Italian afrofunky disco of the ’70s and ’80s. The 14 lovingly selected tracks encompass “avantgardistic, galactic sounding disco, proto-techno, electronic new wave, and cheesy slow motion pop.” Yeah, this sounds like theingredients of pretentiousness all right, but Super Motion Disco is like any variety offreshly baked pastries: sure they can be reheated, and sure other people know how to bake, but they’ ll never taste the same as the way they used to. Still dubious? One listen and you’ll find yourself grooving along to tracks such as the zippy “Maccaroni Radio” (by Eddy Trauba & MM Greco) and the zappy “ The Shark Eats Ice” (Conrad Und Gregor Schnitzler), with your dad, your little sister, and your dog. The lyrics are more often than not super cheesy, (“Glaring Sound throbs / DJs turn the knobs”) but they’re so unabashedly sung, you’ll wonder why you even cared. The tracks of Super Motion Disco sound as fresh and fun now as they must have 30 years ago. There’ s a lot going on here, and it’s a rewarding and filling listen. (Compost Rec, www.compost-rec.com) Adrienne Yeung

My A.D.D.-free mind can’t handle the original, but this wicked slow-mo clip of Mary-Kate and Ashley’s post Full House career-saving videos seriously sounds like it’s from a chopped and screwed copy of 3 Feet High and Rising. lolllllllllllllllllllllllll

Melanie Valera couldn’t have picked a more apt moniker. As Tender Forever, Valera crafts curiously intimate, sparsely instrumented indie pop – previously seen on 2005’s The Soft and the Hardcore and 2007’s Wider – letting her pipes take centre stage to draw you in close. And close you get. Valera’s voice tends to wrap around you, going from hopeful staccato to desperate howls. Opening with “Got to Let Go,” on which Valera croons, “This song is not for you and it is meant to be/ Just a piece of something nice that you won’t get to see,” the album seems borne the eventual relief and release that comes from heartbreak, that pocket after the end of a relationship where emotions run free and wild, the realization that you’re better off alone. “Day Number” swiftly counts off phases of a dying relationship, followed by the musically optimistic, yet lyrically dark “But The Shape Is Wide.” No Snare – named not for instrumental patterns, but rather, as Valera sings on “The Snare That’s Gone,” “My heart was the snare you could hit anywhere” –  is truly an album in the purest sense, a mood that carries through all nine tracks and belies song transitions, each number luring you further into an oddly soothing sorrow, flashes of synths, organs and various percussions. (K records, www.krecs.com) Brietta O’Leary

We who are in-tuned to the fainter vibrations know of ghosts and ghouls around all the time–but now that all Hallow’s Eve approaches, the supernatural bubbles to the surface of the mire more quickly. But F-L-A-M-M-A-R-I-O-N is a video installation at aceartinc. by Susan MacWilliam that explores the validity of an infamous Winnipeg seance, or lack thereof–and the jump cuts and repetition will either make you feel sickly uncomfortable, or just at home.

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Last week, our very talented (and prolific) photographer Cheyenne Rae took a bunch of photos of one of her fav bands, the Wooden Sky. All the photos after the jump!

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Have you ever seen the falling star? I’ve seen it. Usually, it vanishes away in a matter of seconds. But I’ve seen the everlasting falling star. This is Everything Under the Sun. I’ve had this album playing loudly in my head since I listened to it for the first time. I’m always listening to this album, because Jukebox the Ghost makes my emotions deeper. Although music has a limited ability to express the human mind, their music can almost express our feelings. If you listen to “Schizophrenia” and “Half Crazy”, you must be happy and you can’t help dancing. On the other hand, when you listen to “Mistletoe” and “So Let Us Create,” you will get sentimental. “The Sun” and “The Stars” will let you can enjoy this album whenever you listen to it. It is because we live under the sun. Jukebox the Ghost knows everything about us and what music we want to listen to, as if they are watching us from the sun. So we can listen to their music easily. Your day doesn’t start without listening to it. Just listen to it!! (Yep Roc) Takashi Wakasugi

Grinderman is and isn’t Nick Cave at the same time. The faces may be the same – Grinderman’s cast is populated solely by members of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – the costumes are different. While Cave and the Bad Seeds are certainly rock musicians, their oft-furied instrumentation are often overshadowed by Cave’s favourite lyrical pastime – yelling at God. But on Grinderman 2, as much a sequel to 2007‘s self-titled debut Grinderman as possible, Cave and his posse let themselves shed the self-awareness present on so many Bad Seeds tracks, and give themselves license to rock, heavily and free of all inhibitions. Opener “Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man” lulls you in sparse, melancholic plucking, before pulling the curtains back for the real show – ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Mr. Cave’s Axefest. Sit back, relax, and let the shredding guitar tear into your brain. Cave’s obsession with religion is still evident on tracks such as “Heathen Child,” his lyrical topics branch out to critiquing popular culture, and what could be interpreted as a series of bizarre pick-up lines. “Who needs a record player? You are my record player!” (Anti-, www.anti.com) Brietta O’Leary