I have no trouble with my enemies. I can take care of my enemies all right. But my damn friends, they're the ones who keep me walking the floor nights!
Warren G. Harding, President, 1921-1923
In "Mumbo Jumbo," the few breaths about our 29th president are a curious inclusion. The evil Wallflower Order pleads "Let's be done with Wiggle and Wobble," while Reed as narrator tells the true story of a Presidency sunk by poker, scandal, and Prohibition-Era indulgences (possibly) reflected in numerous strikes and "an unhappy country." So it is strange when Harding himself is at the rent party/chitterling switch with Papa LaBas and Black Herman jawing with partygoers and chewing tobacco. Later on, as the focus shifts to the circuitous plans of the book's villains, Harding is a tool "that you may use as you wish."
As we see our hero Papa LaBas vanish into short-order court proceedings and try to secure his wish to meet Sigmund Freud to teach him "The Work," we wind up on the shifting sands of our antagonist's land. At first, the connections between the factions are seemingly important. Irene Castle is the most famous dance instructor in America. We find out that none other than the Vanderbilts were paying the bob-wearing Castle to "do a diluted version of Jes Grew." Which let's face it, could be true as she lost her husband in a plane crash in 1918, remarried in 1919 to a man who then lost all of her money on the stock market. So, in Reed's text, the aforementioned "The Work" of Papa resurfaces as "The Dirty Work" of the Wallflower Order.
In Literary terms, this is quite the handoff. As Reed eloquently puts it, "Fear stalks the land. (As usual, so what else is new?) We see the Order's plans for Papa taking shape, a lengthy, slow-moving attempt at limiting the time he has devoted toward forward progress. He can still feed the Loa back at the Mumbo Jumbo Kathedral, but any attack carries a little more sting than it before and requires more thought and caution in its response. However, our biggest lesson from the aforementioned party is that everyone seems to know that even the most verbally loyal among the crowd, may have secret ties to a diametrically opposed resource. Weirdly, time is everything to these characters as they assemble to study the latest movements of the virus Jes Grew; yet in their own lives, they barely recognize how it is being taken away.
Hinckle Von Vampton seems like a scary character right from the beginning. He is hiding, lying in wait at the pot-stirring New York Sun. Known privately as "The Grand Master," he has ties to the Knights Templar of the Crusades in the Holy Land of the 12th Century. The muckraking newspaper is driving him to drink and he springs a major rule-breaking headline ("VooDoo Generals Surround Marines at Port-Au-Prince") against someone's orders. Of course, the scandal sheet tosses him out on the street, but he has successfully added the occupation of Haiti into the Jes Grew mix now. Wouldn't you know it, even the slithery Von Vampton is subject to a higher power.
A car rolls up in broad daylight and takes him away at gunpoint about the time his nosy housekeeper discovers that the fastidious Von Vampton's apartment was left in a shambles today. We all land in the belly of the beast. With no previous actions, these miniscule references (which honestly make the Order sound slightly comedic) come to their fruition. Reed sees no need to toss Von Vampton into a dank cellar, or chain him to a wall. His genius move is to characterize the villainous lair.
The headquarters of the Wallflower Order. You have nothing real up here. Everything is polyurethane. Polystyrene, Lucite, Plexiglas, acrylate, Mylar, Teflon, phenolic, polycarbonate. A gallimaufry of synthetic materials. Wood you hate. Nothing to remind you of the Human Seed. The aesthetic is thin flat turgid dull grey bland like a yawn...You eat rays and for snacks you munch on-sound. Loading up on data is slumber and recreation is disassembling...Sometimes you play switch brains and hide the heart.
Nothing here is ready to shatter. Everything here is built to withstand the highest pressure. So much for the Jungian "spiritual malaise" outside, Reed's diabolical Wallflower Order has not only seen the future and developed it, they are also using it, via technology, to distract from the slow-motion extraction of time from everyone.
NEW MUSIC THIS WEEK
BRUNO MARS - The Romantic [RED LP/CD/CS](Atlantic)
BLACKPINK - Deadline [VARIOUS VARIANTS on CD](YG/The Orchard)
"Hey Mr. DJ!" Bruno Mars is back. "The Romantic" ends his 10-year solo absence with a House-flavored Seventies exploration that dovetails neatly into his biggest hits ("Uptown Funk") and newest collaborations ("Apt" with Rose.) As always, the hook is dominant in any Mars song. Working with D'Mile, "The Romantic" is so under wraps that his older songs are again ascending the charts as if they were singles.
Rose's BLACKPINK returns with a five-song EP headlined by the amphetamine (we're guessing tour opener) "Jump." The debut single is far more European than expected as it strips down the old Ibiza-style beats (as well as Fischerspooner's classic "Emerge") to reveal a new edge for K-Pop.
GORILLAZ - The Mountain [YELLOW 2LP/DLX CD/CD](Parlophone)
With enough guest stars to merit a "tu-dum," the once virtual Gorillaz turned 25 years old. "The Mountain" is meant to dig into the past according to Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. The visual group may never age, but behind the scenes they have lost numerous collaborators many of whom turn up here in previously cut vocal takes. If "Cracker Island" was a bit of a plea for commercial acceptance, "The Mountain" says nevermind to that and hello to the great big world outside. There is Balkan Folk, Argentine rap, and Syrian dabke all intermingling with a sense that now is the time to break down barriers (the brilliant, twisting Hip-Hop of "The Manifesto') and make peace (the lilting "The Hardest Thing/Orange County" combo - perhaps their best single in years.)
GEESE - Live at Third Man Records [LP](Partisan/Third Man)
Recorded shortly before the deluge of critical praise and press for "Getting Killed," this intimate yet explosive set at Third Man Records demonstrates the power of Geese. With only the confidence that they had a passel of great new songs, "Live at Third Man" communicates their attack and enthusiasm toward allowing themselves as individuals to coalesce into a group within the confines of their songs, while having the cojones to purposefully let them just fall apart as they wish.
VAN MORRISON - Moondance [RHINO RESERVE LP](Rhino)
The redemption of Van Morrison begins with 1968's "Astral Weeks" and continues through 1972's underrated "Saint Dominic's Preview." Fresh from Them and the Pop success of "Brown Eyed Girl," Morrison wanted more from his music, including the ability to combine Jazz, Soul, Folk, and the Irish music of his youth. With so many elements at work, the alchemy struck in roughly four different patterns before losing its magic in degrees. Three sessions of "Astral Weeks" should have made Van a major success. Nonetheless, it was too far ahead of its time. So Morrison decamped to the mountains of New York to pursue his idol, Bob Dylan. "Moondance" returns to the Rhythm & Blues of his early years with a more meditative gaze. "And It Stoned Me" is the first Morrison mystical Folk ballads, a song that feels like years passing by but never feels like it grew one day older. "Crazy Love" is Morrison at his most tender, "Come Running" creates images that leap from the song, and "Into The Mystic" manages to equate love of someone with a love of nature and not sound the least bit pretentious and completely sincere. In short, "Moondance" will always "rock your gypsy soul."
RUSH - Rush [LP](Mercury)
Let us expound upon the joys of early Rush. Pre-Neil Peart debut album "Rush" captures the youthful energy of a culture and country embracing the next generation. Like the bursts of flaming hot Rock crossing over boundaries, early Rush is reminiscent of the drive of Led Zeppelin (those irresistible "Ooooh yeahs" on "Finding My Way") when the riff was mighty ("In The Mood") and every good album made you want to party all night long. John Rutsey was a serviceable drummer (don't hate,) but Lee and Lifeson were clearly high on the scene on Young Street in Toronto. Lifeson's hard rock solos and chiming rhythm guitar were ahead of their time, while "Before/After" hinted at song structures ahead. However, the closer "Working Man" is still an anthem and undeniable in its ongoing impact.
ROB ZOMBIE - The Great Satan [BLACK/WHITE SWIRL/CD/CS](Nuclear Blast)
Rob Zombie may be a perfectionist at heart, but he is truly at his best with the right band members around him. With original guitarist Mike Riggs and bassist Blasko returning to the fold, "The Great Satan" rediscovers the Industrial edge that made White Zombie-into-"Hellbilly Deluxe" so satisfying. Zombie puts the pedal to the Metal and races into Ministry-like territory ("(I'm A) Rock N Roller") making his ongoing Monster movie affiliations now stark and frightening on their own minus the Psychedelic swirl of the last album.
SIGH - Hail Horror Hail [CD](Peaceville UK)
It is time to talk about Japanese Metal. Japanese music culture is rooted in exploring the Avant-Garde and individual pursuits that are off the beaten path. Flower Travellin' Band took Biker Music and the burgeoning Heavy Metal from stellar Sabbath covers to high-strung Progressive-meets-Doom beginnings. High Rise drove it straight into noise, Lip Cream bashed away at it until it became impenetrable Thrash/Hardcore that only bordered on Metal. The original Ghost was truly an apparition, and the ongoing Boris continues to push boundaries away from the published tenets of Doom. (Still need more? Primordial Biker band Guitar Wolf, Noise legends Boredoms, Psychedelic Lo-Fi from Les Rallizes Denudes, and the mighty SynthPop/City Pop innovators Yellow Magic Orchestra - wildly rooted in the Folk/Pop of Happy End.)
Sigh is born from loud, experimental music and Black Metal only to find its way to incorporate a definite Rock/NWOBHM thrust and sense of dramatic intent that likely originates with horror films. Tugging the marionette strings above it all is Mirai Kawashima who is adding haunting keyboard parts and downplaying the gargled-with-hot-asphalt vocals. Like Emperor and Mayhem, these are multiple shades of darkness. Unlike those, Sigh purposefully pushes them into overload. The effect on their third album, 1997's "Hail Horror Hail" is astounding. Most Metal depends on taking you into their sort of "terra incognita." Sigh continues to push you further down the ladder with samples, weird/cheesy synths, and quiet breaks ("12 Souls") that would drop your jaw when encountered in a movie. Nonetheless, the effect is not musical pastiche or even randomness at play, it is composition from a widened palette of resources. "Burial/The Dead Sing" hint at the structure of Black Metal albums to come, as well as Sigh's ambitious early 2000s output.
Kawashima's freedom to compose makes nearly every track here like a circus ride (that rapping in "Invitation To Die" and then the baby cries?!) There are moments where things spin just a hair too fast implanting the thought that this might never stop, and there are the most frightening revelations when Sigh's funhouse mirror vision makes you think that their distortions are now our reality.
NYZ - PRN2 M15t [CS](Cassauna/Important)
At the opposite end of the spectrum, synthesist/sound experimenter David Burraston was given a PreenFM2 from Aphex Twin. His method of minimalism combined with Aphex Twin's ongoing sense of alien transmission-like sound makes these miniatures into sound explosions. While they are not necessarily musical, they elicit feelings and thoughts that go beyond "How did they do that?" into the realm of "Why is this making me feel so...?" Fascinating and the rare release that never hits you the same way twice.
