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Michael Gira / Big Ears Music Festival review
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Grayson Currin | Pitchfork Michael Gira hit such a despondent nadir Sunday night that he seemed to startle even himself. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/149063-report-big-ears-festival-knoxville-tn-02-06-02-08-09 During his hour-long solo set, which served as the finale for Knoxville, Tennessee's inaugural Big Ears Festival, the former Swans frontman followed his old band's tune "Failure" ("Some people live in hell/ Many bastards succeed/ But I've learned nothing/ I can't even elegantly bleed") with Angels of Light's "My Brother's Man. "No, God will never understand/ I'll crush him in my brother's hand," he screamed, locks of slick gray hair falling to the side of his face as he stomped his black leather boot against the worn black stage of Knoxville's Bijou Theatre. "I am the god of this fucking land/ I am the god of this fucking land." Michael Gira "Oh, the gentle folk stylings of M. Gira," he said when the song was over, cracking a coy smile for the cheering audience. "I'm the kind of guy you invite over to your house to babysit your two-year-old daughter." As expected, Gira's set had been stern and scowling, full of references to miscreant politicians and crucifixion offerings. But after those two songs, he eased off, taking a sip......
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Larkin Grimm - Parplar
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Matthew Fiander | popmatters.comIt is probably easiest to call Larkin Grimm a folk singer, but doing that fails to capture just how difficult she is to pin down. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/68925-larkin-grimm-parplar/ She can play the solitary, sad ballad like any good folk singer, as on opener "They Were Wrong". But once she lets out that sadness, she seems to cut free of it, and the rest of Parplar is a fiery and energetic challenge to the listener. She plays on images on femininity in songs like "Blond and Golden Johns" and "Dominican Rum", sneering at the artifice of hyper-sexuality and cosmetic surgery. And when she¹s not full of that infectious defiance, she is all wide-eyed joy. Her take on the traditional "Fall on Your Knees" insists that you stomp on the floor. "My Justine" is a convergence of any stringed instrument you can think of, and they ride a rocky road under Grimm as her vocals rise to the astral plane. Throughout the record, Portland, Maine collective Fire on Fire back up Grimm, and their loose, spaced out folk is the perfect background for Grimm¹s earthen sound. And while you might be inclined to throw her into the freak-folk movement, what she¹s......
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Larkin's strange trip
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Brian Rademaekers - Philadelphia Weekly Larkin Grimm might call Young Gods Records - shared by the likes of the Akron Family and Devandra Banhart - her current musical home, but other than that, this young and eclectic musician is a drifting gypsy making a name for herself in the world of psychedelic folk. http://www.philly.com/community/pa/philadelphia/netimes/Weekly_Columns.html?viewAll=y Her music is a richly textured amalgam of sounds and moods, with weird percussion and smoothed out by her forceful vocals. The 26-year-old singer and songwriter made her debut on Young God in October with the release of Parplar, a 15-track album that spans just over 40 minutes. Produced by Grimm and Michael Gira, who has worked with Banhart, the Akron Family, Angels Of Light, Swans and others, Parplar is an album full of unique gems that range from creepy and haunting to the wild and seductive. And while her bio seems to be one full of fantastical mythology, it might also give some insight to the bizarre, unconventional songs she calls her own. Born in Memphis, Tenn., Grimm was raised by free-loving parents who were members of a religious cult known as the "Holy Order Of MANS." They moved on from that scene when Grimm......
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Fire on Fire - The Orchard
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Matthew Proctor | stereosubversion.com A band of ragamuffins can certainly change.Leaving behind their debut EP’s awkwardness, Fire on Fire‘s proper full-length gallops and rambles through somber shaded defiant declarations in a rural landscape haunted by sinister potentialities. Imagine an East coast version of 16 Horsepower without the rock guitars and the heavy-handed religious distractions. Oddly fitting, the five piece group holds a similar DNA burden as 1960’s mystic folkies Pentangle. Fire on Fire’s origins are traced back to the messy strangeness of an anything goes, throw the kitchen sink in there weirdness of Cerberus Shoals. The group‘s alchemy pf electrified hazy edges to absolutely deft masters of folk instrumentation is nothing short of admirable. Production and mixing suggest a warm rustic gathering around an old hearth. Banjo often takes the lead and every member shares lead vocals at some point. Song structures easily follow the standard verse/chorus dynamic, but here the chorus soars with dense group harmonies. Such a typical approach often would be boring, yet Fire on Fire reveal to be strong songwriters and inventively simple arrangers. The good songs are many in number here. “Assanine Race” warbles effectively with cynical lyrics describing keeping up with Mr. Jones and......
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larkin grimm / interview
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www.rocknrolldating.com / by The Metal ManLarkin's intense, ecstatic voice with swirling multi-tracked patterns recalls the richness of Illuminations-period Buffy Sainte-Marie and the sparkle of Linda Perhacs. www.rocknrolldating.com http://www.rocknrolldating.com/datesfrom.php/4 The Metalman Larkin Grimm January 18, 2009 Larkin's intense, ecstatic voice with swirling multi-tracked patterns recalls the richness of Illuminations-period Buffy Sainte-Marie and the sparkle of Linda Perhacs. Her instrumentation includes duclimer, pennywhistle, bells, drums and guitar. Larkin was previously a member of the Dirty Projectors where she astounded audiences with her mesmerizing voice. We're honored to have her story. Ever since I started working with Michael Gira, fans of his seminal noise-rock band Swans have been contacting me. Some really strange characters have come into my life this way. A large proportion of them are singers in metal bands who send me their records and ask me out on dates, obviously trying to use me to get to him. My Date From Hell was the result of one such character who distinguished himself by being a protégé of Jarboe, the Ex-Swans Metal Diva herself, and he enlisted her help in convincing me to go out with him. Jarboe, who lives not far from my home in Georgia, insisted that I take......