by SL Makita

The reviews are short. I’m only trying to get out the facts. Who it is. What it is. How to get it. Too many reviewers kick in their own opinions…and they are usually writers with delusions of being someone they are not. Who is to say my opinion is right? Who am I to judge someone’s art?

SKIN GRAFT “Blackout” LP // Tusco Embassy
www.tuscoembassy.net
Blackout is everything you could want and more from a Midwest blue collar noise unit. Skin Graft (a.k.a. – Wyatt Howland) pushes the boundaries of entertainment and pain during lives shows as well as on recordings. To me this record is very much like 80s power electronics – brutal low-end rumbles with highs that peak and hold at the perfect moment. Hunt this record down my friends.

EMERALDS “Solar Bridge” LP // Hanson Records
www.hansonrecords.net
With “Solar Bridge”, the Emeralds are on another journey through space and time in search of new worlds to inhabit and overthrow. This 2 track, solar-blue vinyl platter is layered with both synths and guitars. The guitar tone on this record is beyond amazing…amid Brilliant well executed and constructed walls of droning sound. You know who the Emeralds are, you know what they do, so let yourself be carried away on their electronic drone quest.

WINDSCALE “Self-Titled” Cassette // Actual Noise
www.actualnoise.net 
It’s all here – insane frequencies, vicious bass driven low-ends, vocals that demand you, the listener, to pay attention and decipher what is being said/yelled (like a criminal profiler). Windscale is the powerful thought provoking project of Jim Fellahean and Andrew Nolan -there isn’t anything that can stop these two…not even miles of distance, lakes and border patrol agents. This U.S./Canada team are unstoppable.

QUELL “Self-Titled” 3-inch CD // Fellacoustic Records
www.fellacoustic.com
The sounds on this CD are extremely powerful and sadistic, love it or hate it – that’s power electronics! The lyrical content is in-your- face and presented that way…to disarm even the most hardened personality. The CD is packaged in a zine-styled booklet that has pictures of minority oppression, humiliation and abuse. If you are easily offended, then Quell may be an unwanted challenge for you. This CD walks the line and at times crosses it, but again – if you don’t like it, don’t listen – it’s that easy.

If you would like your noise/sound art/power electronics/weirdo band reviewed in the pages of Pink Eye send me a copy of whatever it is on any format. I will never criticize your work. I will only report what I hear, it’s your art, your creation – who am I to say if it’s good or bad?

Inner Ear Infection
slmakita@vzw.blackberry.net
PO Box 360811, Strongsville,Ohio 44136

Self Destruct Button
Juice Tiger // 2009, Tower Control
myspace.com/selfdestructbutton 

I was surprised by the lyrical content running through this album, since over the last 2 years that I’ve been digging their live sets, they have been exclusively an instrumental act (although, they have had singers in the past – SDB has had a revolving line-up for some 7 or more years now). It’s an important note, because the musicianship displayed on this incredible album is like a master class in experimental post-punk instrumentation, where lyrics are no longer necessary…but the addition of the distorted sung/screamed group vocals really bump their sound into a more accessible realm – who doesn’t like to sing along to an anthem here and there? The guitar work thrown down by virtuosos Brendan Sedlak and Rich Raponi create an ever changing web of single line solos, shredded at insanely fast tempos, weaving in and out of each other…and it somehow, manages to stay clear, tight, and devoid of chaos. There’s really something kind of airy and light riding over the heavy thickness. The drummer, Nate Scheible, pounds out some of the most complex, mathematic time signatures on the planet…his ability to hit a break and change time at the drop of a hat is truly impressive. The icing on the cake is Ron Kretsch’s bass/keys/guitar/vocals…which help to keep their sound in a constant moment of the “now” – changing, evolving and moving well beyond any sense of monotony. It’s a “tigery prime cut” on 45 rpm vinyl, and should be a part of every Cleveland music fan’s collection.

- Ian P.E.

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL RECORD STORES! All of these albums are available at: My Mind’s Eye, Music Saves, Bent Crayon, Blue Arrow Records and a few other local shops.

Hot Cha Cha
The World’s Hardest Working Telescope & The Violent Birth of Stars // 2009, Exit Stencil
myspace.com/hotchachahotchacha
exitstencil.org/hotchacha.php

This album can’t help but become infectious. With no-wave songs like, “Ticket Stub,” and “Hookers Deserve a Lifetime Achievement Award,” there’s no questioning Hot Cha Cha’s impressive and quickly advancing musical career. This album exemplifies the lush and complex realm of human battles that these ‘grrrl’ riot warriors are willing to undertake, yet while in tights and leg warmers. Aside from the noxious, Cleveland fumes that this Exit Stencil release imbues, there is some significant cultural substance. In brief: The Breeders meet Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet and Sleater-Kinney over a cheap, afternoon café lunch with Modest Mouse…and with Free Kitten – in basketball jerseys making bad jokes, but trilingual. (Deep breath…) Bosnian-born singer, Jovana Batkovic sings in English, French, and Serbian. There is a distinct guitar sound from guitar player Mandy Aramouni’s watery licks and prog-like keys, like a cool watermelon on a hot day. This is the ultimate Turkey Day sound track for the original homeland security. Check out their credits and Hot Cha Cha’s music videos by Cleveland Director, Noel Maitland at myspace.com/hotchachahotchacha. The darlings of ‘The Cha,’ will be coming back from a month-long tour to Cleveland right around when this issue of Pink Eye rears its head…you know the drill, refer to the website.

-SCM

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL RECORD STORES! All of these albums are available at: My Mind’s Eye, Music Saves, Bent Crayon, Blue Arrow Records and a few other local shops.

Yeah, gotta love World B. Free – representing Cleveland since 1997, Muamin Collective have been around. Lurking the underground scenes, playing a ton of great, diverse shows – they’re artists, and don’t give a damn about your genre limitations…from classic jazz trios to hardcore punk outfits – they’ll throw down with the best. With “World B. Free”, they’ve put together a rawer mix than their previous (and also memorable) release – “wHereMYpeoPLes​@​?​!” …but it’s a lot more diverse, grabbing from a larger collection of samples and featuring a crowd of other talented hip-hop personalities in the Cleveland area. Aaron “aLiVe” and Josiah “Zion” MC this album, lyrically – it moves around a lot of topics, from empowerment to sexy talk, mixed into a soundscape filled with the standard funk and gospel takes as well as more futuristic sets of samples…blips and bleeps and Dr. Who styled knob turns. There’s kind of a dub-smoked, loose organic feel going on…not exactly rough, but definitely not the clean, overproduced schlock that is so common in hip-hop these days.

- Ian P.E.

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL RECORD STORES! All of these albums are available at: My Mind’s Eye, Music Saves, Bent Crayon, Blue Arrow Records and a few other local shops.

Mr. California and the State Police
Shrimp & Chocolate // 2009, Self-Release
myspace.com/mrcalifornia

Many years in the making, “Shrimp and Chocolate” has finally been released in a limited run of 500 vinyl copies. California to Cleveland transplant, Terry Ryan and his sampling machine, The State Police, beat the hell out of your ears, but it’s a damn fun ride. As notated by a sticker on the cellophane, this album includes the infamous “Butt Song”, as well as other classics such as: “Faster Masturbating Bunny”, “Carrot Clit”, and “Crackhead”. More “punk rock” than that “term” can possible describe…it’s fuzzed-out, distorted chaos mixed with electronics…short songs that get to the point, containing hilarious (and surprisingly clever) lines…in some sort of perverse way – it actually reminds me of Jello Biafra…only harder, faster, funnier, and way more fucked.

- Ian P.E.

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL RECORD STORES! All of these albums are available at: My Mind’s Eye, Music Saves, Bent Crayon, Blue Arrow Records and a few other local shops.

- Ian P.E.

by SL Makita

First off, I’m not a writer or journalist by any sort. However, I have been involved in the underground music scene in Cleveland for what seems to be my whole lifetime and the majority of that time has been spent working with sound…aka NOISE, so I want to use this column to spotlight Ohio’s experimental scene – it has a lot of unappreciated talent and I want to give credit where credit is due!

Here’s a brief “what’s happening” in the experimental/noise/power electronics/sound art scene in Cleveland and around Ohio…as well as some related Records/Cassettes/CDs you should own!

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AARON DILLOWAY RETURNS
Aaron Dilloway is back in our great state and so is Hanson Records. That’s right kiddies, our good friend from Wolfeyes has returned to our state and his store will be open real soon…so get to Oberlin and visit him. You can bet your rare Whitehouse records that Aaron will be playing a lot of shows as well. www.hansonrecords.net

Aaron Dilloway “Face Mask” 7-inch EP
This 2 track 7incher is a blueprint as to why I believe Aaron Dilloway is the best noise artist out today. He recorded this in a hotel and it blazes – The man gets it! A lot of noise artists are great live but not on recordings or the other way around, but not Mr. Dilloway, he captures his live sound on recordings and that to me folks is the whole deal. “Face Mask” is an amazing listen put out by the good people @ Turgid Animal Records.

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FELLACOUSTIC RECORDS
Fellacoustic Records is starting to make a name for its self…the small run label from Clevo has put out cds by KING OF NOISE Merzbow, Fellahean, slMakita (yours truly), Windscale and more to come. Fellacoustic records also hosts a monthly live action event called Audio//Visual//Baptism, which usually takes place on a Sunday every month at local venues…and sometimes travels to other cities and States. Please check the Fellacoustic website for release/merch updates as well as AVBs and other shows. www.fellacoustic.com

Fellahean “Insignificant Scrap”
Fellahean’s recordings are why you really watch NASCAR races – the crashes! You desire/crave the sound of twisted metal during the accidents! Fellahean is the sound of Cleveland…audio decay like it was meant to be.

Merzbow “Tombo”
This is Merzbow’s return to ear piercing noise. I remember years and years ago listening to Ecobondage and being completely leveled by what I just heard and “Tombo” gave me that exact same feeling again (along with the ringing in my ears). “Tombo” reminds us all why Merzbow is the king of noise!

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That’s it for this issue, if you want your sounds reviewed or talked about email me at slmakita@vzw.blackberry.net. Remember true art should be an attack on all of the senses! 

Inner Ear Infection
PO Box 360811
Strongsville,Ohio 44136

Kickass Album Art
By Ian P.E.

“X-mas in July” yeah, exactly – when Chief Bromide Land arrived at my doorstep. Poster – check, magnet – check, candyland game – check. It reminded me of how it was like when I was getting my first vinyl records in the mail. You’d put the record on and then just spread the whole rest of the package out on the floor – all the great inserts and posters. Indie Labels used to load up their mail order packages with all kinds of extra fun…but in this digital age everything is a freaking wash.

Blame it on the economy, on the stranglehold of the corporate music structure, digital music – whatever! Laziness is my number reason…and let’s not even get into the lack of creative band names out there these days. And that’s what makes this album something to remember…whenever someone mentions album art, I’ll be like – “this one band from Cleveland called Chief Bromide made a full Candyland game for their album art”. Kick Ass!

- Ian P.E.

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CHIEF BROMIDE
Chief Bromide Land // 2009, Self-Release

(A Review by Colleen Drakage)

The lyrics in Bromide Land are indecipherable, but the hazy harmonic style blends vigorously with the instrumentals, and who’s really paying attention to words in Candyland anyway? Think of Velvet Underground, but really under the ground, well…more like underwater. Reading the lyrics, however, gives a good shanking to what initially seems like heroin love songs.

Listening to Chief Bromide Land makes me think of swimming in an above-ground pool and drinking in the garage. They have somewhat pleasant influences…like Sonic Youth, the Meat Puppets and other angsty-shoegaze-arrythmic-swaying kinds. Songs vary from dirges for laying in the dark, to uplifting rambling through the desert scenes. It’s music to get out of town to.

When you obtain this disk of fine noise, tune your player directly to number 8; GOD SHAPED HOLE. Not exactly sure how they came across such a distinct hole, but I’d like to spend some time in there, and I’d bet my night’s tips it was located somewhere in Cleveland…most likely on Whiskey Island.

Chief Bromide was thoughtful enough to pack it all up for you, in a pizza box, to go. PRIZE INSIDE! It has a badass Candyland-ripoff insert that you can actually play with a group of your drunkest friends; it’s enough to make you break out the good scissors and wood glue. There’s only 100 of this deluxe edition, (including the one in my lap) so try not to sleep at the wheel on this one. Copies can be procured at your local record pusher.

 
SCARCITY OF TANKS
NO ENDOWMENTS // 2008, Total Life Society

Mathew Wascovitch has put together a pretty killer record here – his collection of musicians known as Scarcity of Tanks have been at it for awhile, and this album definitely reflects the time put in. From the cover art by Devendra Banhart to the final master by Weasel Walter, all the details are in place for a minor-masterpiece. Churning bass lines (hell, Mike Watt himself actually filled in on bass for the Scarcity of Tanks Southern California tour earlier in the year), improvisational jazz motifs, spoken word, jagged Stoogesque guitars…the sound is pretty unclassifiable…kind of like some art-punk-rocking-jazz-poet jam gone crazy for a night on mushrooms – and that’s the best compliment I can give a band. Most of the songs are pretty simple, riding a key through to the end – falling in and out of chaos, the tempos change but the groove remains present. And Wascovitch throws down some pretty good lines over the top of the madness…my favorite – “The walkers contemplate running” from the song – “Motto for the Parked”. S.O.T. is a classic example of a Cleveland band that’s pretty well known in a lot of underground scenes across the globe, but largely ignored by the locals…despite the fact that the revolving line-up has featured a virtual hall-of-fame of Cleveland musicians.

- Ian P.E.

MYSTERY OF TWO
SELF TITLED // 2009, Exit Stencil

The first thing that jumps out at me from Mystery of Two’s second full length album is the fact that the songs have reached their full potential. This “new new wave” album wasn’t just thrown together in a weekend. Every break was timed correctly, every hook is crisp…the builds and falls are freaking perfect – dynamically sound exclamations on top of the great song writing skills of front man Ryan Wietzel. Seems like the boys really hunkered down in the studio over the winter (easy to do when you run one like Ryan does with Exit Stencil)…and came out with some really mature songs. However, the first thing that will probably jump out to a new listener, is the sound of the vocals – it’s kind of a love it or hate it deal breaker for a lot of people I’ve talked to, but if you were raised on the good stuff – like Television, Pere Ubu, and Talking Heads…then you’ll get along fine. The last combo song of – “Strange Town/Free Fall”, is a standout – that baby cooks a stew of agitated boredom into complacent acceptance for a good 8 minutes…keeping the edge of control tipping over the balance for most of the duration. One of the best bands in Cleveland these days – plus this release has trumpets playing on it..like spanish new new wave trumpets.

- Ian P.E.

JJ MAGAZINE
Dinner // 2009, Self-Release

In this fast landscape of sardonic, tongue-in-cheek lyrics with bright-witted observations about the sustenance found in iced coffee, and tunes that make you want to Sufi-dance at a circus, Dinner, is a cool breeze on a hot day – “Shopping malls and diesel engine trucks” …Ahhh the Midwest. The song “yndwyt” (You Never Do What You’re Told) and much of the recording style of Dinner reminds me of the production of Cleveland “power-pop darlings” Macine Go Boom and their 2003 release, Thank You Captain Obvious, also mastered by long time Cleveland engineer and producer, Mark Klein of Noise Floor Studios. Dinner is masterfully produced, with songs like “Stoner” featuring carefully chosen ornaments of strings and “Be Happy Love” decorated with sentimental breathes of trumpet. Roxanne is a fun and scrappy mutation of Joan Jett, Patty Smith and Debbie Gibson in a death match…with Blondie refereeing. This band is nerd-core, power-pop at its best. I feel like I am in a John Hughes movie when I listen to Dinner, but in a refreshing way. It’s like reminiscing about watching the Goonies, playing Super Nintendo and listening to DEVO’s “We’re Through being Cool.” I feel like I have made out to these songs already. Dinner, Mmmm.

- Mishak