Ducks Battle Satan

I spent most of 2011 catching up on releases that came out in 2010 so the best record I listened to all of last year was Black Mountain Transmitter’s Black Goat of the Woods. Yet when I actually compiled a list of the records I tracked  down in 2011 I was surprised by the sheer number of them. The other thing I’ve noticed is that I have barely written about any of them. This year’s releases (at least the ones I enjoyed) were a challenging bunch of records and it has taken me more listens in order to come to terms with many of these records than in past years. So here is my best of list, other records I enjoyed and some lists from some readers. Thanks again for all of your support and conversations this year. Here is to an even better 2012.

Records of 2011 (and I am ranking them for the first time.)

20. Skullflower – Fucked On a Pile of Corpses

19. Mamuthones – Mamuthones

18. Merzbow – Yaho-Niwa

17. Machinefabriek – Veldverk

16. Part Wild Horses Mane on Both Sides – Poisson

15. Zomby – Dedication

14. Peaking Lights – 936

13. Demdike Stare – Tryptych

12. Rustie – Glass Swords

11. The Thing with Jim O’Rourke – Shinjuku Growl

10. Pete Swanson – I Don’t Rock At All

9. Ectoplasm Girls – TxN

8. Tim Hecker – Ravedeath 1972

7. Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica

6. New Blockaders/Merzbow/Anomali – Kali-Yuga Karma

5. Cut Hands – Afro Noise 1

4. Werewolf Jerusalem – Confessions of a Sex Maniac

3. Merzbow – Dead Zone

2. Daniel Menche and Anla Courtis – Yagua Ovy

1. Daniel Menche – Feral

 

Record I still don’t know if I like

Prurient – Bermuda Drain

 

Record’s I’ve listened to a lot

Kevin Drumm – Second

Merzbow & Jamie Saft – Merzdub

Black to Comm – 1968

Mouthus – No Canal

Richard Skelton – Landings

 

Ben’s List

2011:
Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972

Julianna Barkwick – The Magic Place

Toby Goodshank – Truth, Jump, Fall

Merzbow – Dead Zone

Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol 2

Daniel Menche – Feral

Lindsey Buckingham – Seeds We Sow

Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica

Prurient – Bermuda Drain

Richard Buckner – Our Blood

Honorable Mention:
Merzbow – Lop Lop

10 non-2011 CDs that blew me away:
Nurse with Wound – Huffin Rag Blues

Koji Asano – Galaxies

Yellow Swans – Deterioration

Lasse Marhaug/John Wiese – Country & Western

Ulver – Nattens Madrigal

Tim Hecker – Harmony In Ultraviolet

Boards of Canada – Music Has the Right to Children

Keith Fullerton Whitman – Libson

Keith Fullerton Whitman – Playtroughs

Keith Fullerton Whitman – Multiples

Can – Tago Mago

Well, I feel like I’ve spent most of this year catching up  on the records I missed  last year. So to address the balance I’m calling for Top 10 Lists from DBS readers. I thought two lists would be fun. One for 2011 releases and a general one for the records that rocked your world this year irrespective of when it was released.  The records do not have to be in a particular order (unless you want them to be) and you can even go beyond 10 if you feel the need.

If you want to participate send your lists to ducksbattlesatan@gmail.com by Christmas and I’ll post them on boxing day.

cheers

Dave

A quick note to let you know that I’m also now writing for Olive Music. The reviews that I post there will be cross posted here.

www.olive-music.blogspot.com

Miles – a reader and sometime contributor to this blog has started his own.  Check it out!

www.expresswaytoyourskull.wordpress.com

Moustaches – yes, narrative -no. What do you reckon the other guy is whispering in Omar Souleyman’s  ear? The album this comes from is fantastic.

… because there are just not enough velvet frock coats in pop music.

Below are the top 6 search terms people type in  and are directed to ducksbattlesatan. See if you can spot the search term which is not like the others.

double leopards	520
noisenoisenoise	378
merzbow	245
merzbow 1930	228
yellow swans at all ends	199
animal fucking	165

Now I had a bit of a trawl through what I’ve written and I think I tracked down the culprit. Here’s my top blog tip – when describing animal noises on a record try not to use fucking as an adjective.

You’re welcome.

Your friend Dave.

I’ve been a but pre-occupied at the moment but Ducks Battle Satan (aka noisenoisenoise) had a bit of a milestone this month with 300 posts.

It’s been three years of record reviews and as I look through this blog I’ve noticed how my listening habits have changed. Less doom and more drone seems to be the order of the day. A reader emailed me the other day for some advice. He was interested in noise but didn’t know where to start. I was pretty chuffed that he asked me because the main reason I started writing this blog was to try to articulate my experiences with this brave new world of sound. My list of recommendations was probably a bit unwieldy and unhelpful but if you want to see it published here drop me a line. I’d also like to say a big hello to the regular readers from Tennessee, Utrecht and Minneapolis. I’m not sure who you are but if you want to say hi – ducksbattlesatan@gmail.com

cheers

Dave

You can follow me on the Twitter if you’re keen. Ducksbattlesata is the name. Where is my fucking “n”?

I’m hopeless at picking the best record of any particular year but I will give you a list of things that were released this year that rocked my world.

Golden Sores – a Peaceable Kingdom

TODD – Big Ripper

Black Boned Angel – Verdun

Derek Rogers – Color Shield

finneyerkes – Gather and Sing

Chord – Flora

Prurient – Cocaine Death

Hospitals – Hairdryer Peace (it was released on CD this year so I’m counting it!)

Emeralds – What Happened

Daniel Menche – Kataract

Locrian – Rain of Ashes

Health – Get Color

Aaron Dilloway – Chain Shot

Merzbow – Fukurou: 13 Japanese Birds Pt.2

Merzbow - Camouflage

Wolf Eyes – Always Wrong

.snd – Atavism

Oneohtrix Point Never – Rifts

Sunn 0))) – Monoliths and Dimensions

Khanate – Clean Hands Go Foul

Melvins – Chicken Switch

John Wiese – Circle Snare

KTL – IV

What did I miss?

Well I suppose it was time to change the name of this blog. Noisenoisenoise as a name has been shitting me so I decided to shell out some cash and actually fucking pay for a domain name.  The old blog will automatically link here but feel free to update your links.

Dave

If you hadn’t already figured out by the number of spelling errors on this blog, I’m often drunk when I post. In the interests of raising the standards and the fact that I won’t be getting my own copy for a couple of weeks, I’ve invited Seth (a reader of this blog) to write up his thoughts on a pretty exciting re-release. I’m not sure if I’m right but like myself, I think Seth is new to this noise/avant stuff. There is only one comment I’d make in addition to Seth’s thoughts and that is the fact that this is titled Volume 1 is a pretty exciting teaser that there might be more Sun City Girls re-releases coming our way. Take it away Seth.

The Sun City Girls are a bunch of guys from Arizona with not much to do other than make strange noises with distorted guitars whilst releasing numerous albums that are incredibly difficult to find. Which is nice, if you’re into that sort of thing. “You’re Never Alone With A Cigarette” is a singles compilation consisting of six songs that were recorded during the sessions for their most well-known album, “Torch of the Mystics”, and three previously unreleased tracks that all sound like something from a spaghetti western soundtrack (although with a LOT more distortion on the guitars). All of the songs are instrumental, except for “The Beauty of Bengazi” which seems to be sung in a made-up language.

Since the only release by the Sun City Girls that I had heard prior to this was “Dante’s Disneyland Inferno”, I didn’t really have much idea of what to expect from this album, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the material contained on it. The first song, “100 Pounds of Black Olives” consists of a cacophony of distorted guitar and bass that gets faster and louder until the fuzz overwhelms your ears, before slowly burning out. It actually seemed very reminiscent of some of the material from Can’s “Tago Mago”, especially the improvised guitar parts from “Paperhouse”. “Sev Acher” is one of the three Morricone-esque songs, the other two being “Amazon One” and “Wide World of Animals”, all of which are all fantastic and probably the best songs on the album. The sheer skill of the musicians is also worth noting, with the hyperactive acoustic guitar twang on “The Beauty Of Benghazi” and the hypnotic riffs contained within “Wide World of Animals” being excellent testaments to the impressive skill of the Sun City Girls. The only song I’m not particularly fond of is “The Fine-Tuned Machines Of Lemuria”, which just drags on for too long and seems to be a bit self-indulgent. It does contain some nice trumpet parts, though.

In conclusion, this album is a great starting place if you have even the slightest interest in exploring the vast discography of the Sun City Girls. All of the songs are enjoyable and the production is top-notch. Check it out if you can find it (or just steal it!*).

*You probably shouldn’t actually steal it, you might get in trouble or something. Not that you have much chance of finding it, anyway.