Pakistan Military Academy insignia
For a time I worked as
parking lot attendant. The University of
Minnesota was (is?) the largest university (60,000 students) in America and there
were heaps of parking lots scattered across the sprawling network of campuses in
the Twin Cities. My job was to stand in
the cold and hand every car a ticket. When the parking lot filled up, usually
within an hour, I spent the next three hours of the shift inside a little
cabin, studying.
On the walls of one
particular cabin someone had started a list of band names. Each week it grew
longer and longer. Yasser and the Gaza
Highsteppers was followed by Meringue
Fortitude which was followed by something equally silly. It was a quiet perk of the job.
How about this band name? Vatican
Shadow. And this a name for their latest album Pakistan Military Academy.
Not exactly funny or even
that inventive. But these are real names and the subject of tonight’s post.
I stumbled upon this record
only last week. And of course, since the
Washerman’s Dog is mad about anything Pakistani, I read on. Here is what the
website (boomkat) said, Ok, we're trying to stay relatively stush about these new Vatican Shadow releases at the risk of
over-egging them, but really, this one is just f**king incredible. Like the 'Washington Buries Al
Qaeda Leader At Sea Deck 1-3' series, he's drawing inspiration from the whole
"did they/didn't they?" situation with Bin Laden earlier this year to make some of the darkest gear
we've ever heard. Like the bastard savant offspring of John Carpenter, Michael
Diekmann and Aphex Twin (don't know how that would
work, but hey), he's in F19 nightflight mode on 'Prime Minister Defiant As Pakistan Outs CIA Agent' with droning, black synth-bass
mass and narrowed-eye strings primed for the mission, while 'Whitewashed Compound
Stealth Helicopter Crash' makes no bones about its epic intentions with majestically moody synth
orchestrations and widescreen reverbs. The two other, more beat-driven tracks
are excellent too, but this release is essential for the other two. One of our
favourite releases this year, hands-down.
This is dark music surely. I mean with the
names being what they are you’re not going to get polka. But for those who recoil at the thought of
dark trance music, take heart. This album is very good. It’s moody and
evocative. All synthesizers, some drum beats and a bit of ‘noise’ (but very
tastefully done!) And from what I can
garner on the man behind Vatican Shadow,
Dominic
Fernow,(the earnest young lad from Wisconsin pictured below) this is him entering an
‘easy listening’ phase. I take it a lot of his other stuff is mostly industrial
clang.
While this record will probably not make it to
the top of the hit parade on FM Abbotabad, it is an unexpected rough diamond
that is growing on me with every listen.
Track
Listing:
01. Whitewashed Compound Stealth Helicopter
Crash
02. Staccato Bursts Of Gunfire
03. CIA Contractor Freed Over Pakistan Killings
04.Prime Minister Defiant As Pakistan Outs CIA Agent
Listen here
|
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Music for the Generals in Abbotabad: Vatican Shadow
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Nice! And having at one time been a Minneapolitan parking lot attendant myself, I must say: This is a job that everyone should have at least once in their life. Getting paid to read and bullshit with strangers... Amazing. Unless Steve Buscemi shows up and shoots you in the face, of course.
Bro Rex. Solidarity man!
And yes, the snuggle toothed nuts had to be watched closely!
Post a Comment