The State of California is nowadays full of diverse yet cutting edge music. How much good bands I have discovered in a couple of weeks – Dizzy Jaguars!, Wonder Wheel, Testicular Manslaughter, Tan Dollar etc. All those guys and gals who is wearing beach shorts and flabby shirts may be looked out way too usual but their sound is the qualitative brand in itself. In nearly 300 years ago, a French philosopher (Montesqieu) tried to determine human characteristics by bounding them to special geographical conditions. For example, people who are living in the mountains are used to love more freedom and people who are related to the living on the plateaus are biased to despotism. All we can say about California is there is no relation between interaction of thought laziness and summer blaze. I know very well all assignments in this way don`t make sense about it at all. Certainly, (physical) environments do affect the people in a certain way, but ortodoxically categorical assignments are the case of racism actually. This gives some persons the opportunity to manipulate with half-truths to reflect yourselves better and the other groups worse than they are in reality.
However, the emergence of a sequent new wave in the southwestern part of The USA is not a case to be surprised about because California is always having been an important place in the history of innovative popular music. One great act is followed by another - The Residents, Big City Orchestra, Negativland, Cromagnon, Mike Patton, Christian Marclay, Estradasphere, Tuxedomoon, Xiu Xiu, Ariel Pink, Testicular Manslaughter if to name most well-known amongst others.
Behind Crowcat is a guy named Mike McDowell - formerly having some partakings within avant-garde scene around Orange County-area (Dollar Tan, Fadestale, The Month Long Song), and his project Sun Sound Energy. Anyone who is familiar with the latter band, can a bit conjecture what could expect from his new brainchild.
Freestreet - released on McDowell`s own label Psychedelicate Records - consists of 5 tracks within 27 minutes. Obviously it is the optimal size, because this sound is broadly stretched out of pop. All what is on the EP herein can be labelled as total-pitched experimentalism - the fringes of electoacoustic and psychoacoustic environments, mutated vocal sequences/experiments, hi-speed/low-speed passages. Above it at times you can hear soaring vague spoken word samples and Freestreet can be represented without a solid fuzz noise as well. Near conventional instruments (bass, guitar, voice, drums) are also mentioned kalimba and chair(?). Is it an electric chair actually? Is it possible that the prefix "electric" is omitted to mention indeed? Throughout the way a continuous sizzle does make important sense. By its genuine sound it recalls me about limited edition tape albums of the obscure industrial acts by the 80`s. Even nowadays in the omnistylistic era Crowcat sound in a peculiar way. More exactly, his old school industrial moving about is getting closer to some enlightening works of Big City Orchestra thereabout 25-30 years ago. However, at those moments when the string instruments getting emerge, usually bass guitar (electric guitar is being directed into effect-based madness usually), a weird crossover of psych-blues and drone will be born (Clapping Fire). Of course, it all takes place in the guide of free improvisational indulgence.
Freestreet is aesthetically an outstanding publication for sure. Although intense by its form, it does wrap itself in some kind of safety, not being suppressing by its nature. In the first place I ought to admit the EP is not designed for anybody. The listeners who do have a consistent experience regarding old school industrial music/avant-garde/noise/drone are probably witted to understand it. Otherwise it may be seen too much a case of curiosity.
Download it from here
9.5
