Sunday, September 5, 2010

Sound Lays You To Waste



Connecticut's Myty Konkeror released their first album recently, "I miss the future.", on their own Twin Lakes label. Besides the CD version, there's also a labor-intensive LP version, limited to 30, which includes an individually lathe-cut clear polycarbonate disc (made in New Zealand by Peter King) in a hand-assembled, hand-numbered jacket with a few other goodies thrown in, one being a CD-R of the album. The CD and LP offer very different listening experiences, not just in their resolution-- the CD is a lot "brighter", for instance--- but in the shape and frequencies of the sound being produced, due to the hand-made nature of the LP. The LP, of course, is actually pretty neat; I have one other similarly lathe-cut record (a Mountain Movers 7"), and they're made not of vinyl but a super-clear polycarbonate, so clear that the bands on the records where there aren't any grooves are completely see-through, just like a glass window. Playing the record is almost like dropping the needle on a sheet of ice.

A good chunk of "I miss the future." is heavy rock, but not in a typical Black Sabbath stoner metal kind of way, as you might be expecting. This record can be fairly ambitious and intricate at times, especially with songs like "Kidz and Gulls" (still available as a free download at the Twin Lakes web site if you go there now, I think) and "Whitewash", which are poppier and very similar to Built To Spill or Sebadoh, especially in the vocals. My favorite songs on the album, "sus Envy" and "Vastare", are two of the more bone-crushing ones; I'm including "Vastare" here, which I've ripped from the lathe-cut LP, for you to check out.




MYTY KONKEROR -

"Vastare"










7 comments:

Holly said...

That is a totally cool record. I am totally geeking out. Thanks for the opportunity!

Brushback said...

Yeah, this and the Inappropriate Tough Guy Behaviour 12" make two really cool packages that I've managed to get my hands on over the past week or so. Kinda neat.

Twin Lakes still has about 20 copies left of the LP (it just came out last month-- my copy is #9/30), for anyone willing to pony up $20 ppd for one...

twinlakesrecords.com

~

Brushback said...

"Vastare" is still up on the Twin Lakes web site also-- you can download it and compare the mp3/CD file to the lathe-cut LP one.

Holly said...

I could, & did. Your rip is @320 & the free dl is @256, so I cut the dl some slack, but .... the difference is astounding. It's like Iggy vs. Bowie's 'Raw Power'. And unlike many otherwise highly discerning individuals, I'm an Iggy gal through and through.

Wow.

Anonymous said...

i got #14 of 30 on vinyl. great bunch of psych noise. thnx for the tip
Vegas

Brushback said...

Cool! Yeah, the LP is a pretty hefty thing to own, both packaging and music.

Brushback said...

The mp3 file on this post is now inactive.

Twin Lakes is going to make another batch of the lathe-cut version, for anyone who still needs one...

I saw this album on a couple of year-end "best of" lists (including Built on a Weak Spot), which was nice...