Kendra Amalie – Intuition (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)

Feeling a little late to the game with the music of Kendra Amalie. Her bandcamp page shows a wealth of activity, both solo and collaborative (Names Divine, Sight of Swans, etc.), and an artist that possesses a fierce creative energy that pushes her in a multitude of directions. Based in nearby Milwaukee, I’ve seen her name/projects on a few different Twin Cities’ concert bills over the past few years. As I write, she’s likely lugging amps and getting ready to do the drone switcheroo at the 7th annual Drone Not Drones in Minneapolis, an event she has performed at on multiple occasions. Despite all of her activities over the years, Intuition is her debut solo long player, and it’s an impressive collection of songs and improvisations that showcase her talent and versatility as a guitarist. There are tracks on Intuition that share a similar ragged modern psychedelic rock thrust as fellow underground travelers like Headroom, Mountain Movers, and the David Nance Group, but Amalie comes at it with a more cosmic, country folk-blues sensibility. She can steer her group from laid back hypno-grooves into unexpectedly, dare I say, shredworthy lift-off (check out “Become the Light”) and return to the most abstract, free improv guitar plunk in a moment’s notice (“Improvisation for Mark Hollis” & “Look at the Light (Source))”. It’s certainly a wide-reaching collection of guitar-centric music, but with Intuition, Kendra Amalie is now firmly locked-in on my radar.  

        

Mausim – …the new humanity (HP Cycle)

It’s been ages since I’ve seen the Toronto-based HP Cycle label imprinted on the (inner) sleeve of any new release. Heck, I think it goes back to when I was sniffin’ around for a copy of that puzzler of a box set by Boots / C.C. / Snake & Remus that ol’ HP was on the radar. Despite what has been, as far as I can tell, a good decade long hiatus, HP house band, Mausim, has apparently remained active (?) and given ‘em good enough reason to press up a new LP. It’s unclear, however, as to when this material was recorded, who’s involved, etc., as HP Cycle remains one of the toughest, most cryptically encased eggs to crack. …the new humanity certainly harkens back to the early 00’s era of crudely elaborate CD-R’s filled with psych noise confusion: think Double Leopards, The Hototogisu, or the extended Vibracathedral family. But, it’s not just guitar drone overload here. The second untitled track on the A-side captures a similar rustling sound environment as those described on the latest Matthias Gustaffson release covered in the previous installment of this column, and the opening track of the B-side slowly morphs into a stirring, drone-folk dreamer. The very limited information that the label provides perhaps says it best: “Trying to communicate something abstract using an unfamiliar language and the message becomes just sound. The sound is amplified yet it brings no further clarity. It is still just sound, dense and ever shifting.”

Sumuposauttaja – SP1ALBUM – Limited Remix Edition (Cudighi Records)

Stating the obvious here, but recent years have seen no shortage of reissues from every corner of the musical landscape, from the most outlandishly obscure records to the most unnecessary bargain bin fodder. Most of these, of course, are given the deluxe vinyl treatment, but here we have an unlikely reissue in the form of an expanded cassette edition of a release that initially came out on vinyl in 2018. Say what you might, the cassette format actually serves the smudged electro-pop of Finnish artist Sumuposauttaja quite well, and honestly the tasteful pastel-hued graphics on the j-card artwork are a serious upgrade from the microscopic, floss-upon-floss photo that adorned the original sleeve (though kudos for reppin’ oral hygiene). Musically, Sumuposauttaja channels a sort of hypnagogic dance-pop that bears traces of the Quiet Storm soul of Sade and the solemn darkened dance-pop of early Yaz(oo), all sung with an earnest yet gauzy croon ala the late Talk Talk frontman, Mark Hollis. Most of the original album tracks, including the two additional remixes, clock in at the 5:00 minute mark or beyond, giving the song structures themselves the feel of the extended 12” club mix common in the 80’s. Even though SP1ALBUM approaches dance floor tactics, it feels geared more for the sleep-deprived, clean-up crew mopping up the grime after club hours or for the wayward souls walking home alone in the early morning. In short, with an album that was recorded entirely on a basic Yamaha PSR-48 keyboard, it’s easy to get beyond the throwback reference points and hear SP1ALBUM simply as a well-crafted assemblage of minimalist bedroom pop.