REVIEWS BY PAUL CORUPE, MARK R. HASAN, JEREMY HOBBS, GEORGE PACHECO AND TREVOR TUMINSKI
ERASERHEAD David Lynch and Alan R. Splet
SOUNDTRACK
SACRED BONES RECORDS Arguably one of the most important moments in David Lynch’s career was the beginning of his partnership with visionary sonic architect Alan R. Splet. When the director’s inaugural mindfuck masterpiece Eraserhead hit the midnight circuit in 1978, peo- ple were immediately enthralled/re- pulsed by its gorgeously nightmarish mise-en-scène, but perhaps the most unsettling aspect of the picture was its simple yet broodingly effec- tive sound design. The clanging of industrial factories and absurdly am- plified room tone gave birth to those notorious Lynchian atmospherics, which seemed to emanate from a boiler room in the basement of Hell. Brooklyn’s Sacred Bones Records has created the ultimate (black) Christmas present in the form of a remastered vinyl version of the film’s rare soundtrack recording, contain- ing all of the original phantasmago- ria, as well as a recently unearthed Peter Ivers track that hasn’t been heard since it was recorded. A per- fect gift for the weirdo who has everything. JH 00000
an homage to all things Burton, fea- turing the familiar chatty chorals, childlike mysticism via tinkling glock- enspiel and, rather blatantly the (un- conscious?) use of the Batman theme. It’s also an eloquent celebra- tion of Elfman’s idol Bernard Her- rmann, notably with its use of low woodwinds, a grand church organ and a theremin for creepy atmos- phere, but the third and perhaps most significant quality is the near- absence of electronics. Performed by a large orchestra, Elfman’s foray into classical horror scoring has a delib- erately intimate thematic design that contrasts innocence with a menacing unknown – a juxtaposition reminis- cent of James Bernard’s Hammer canon. Although a little derivative (at least on CD), Frankenweenie is a deeply engaging mini-symphony, and perhaps Elfman’s most mature use of broadly drawn orchestral colours. MRH 0000½
ideas (aleatoric sounds abound), a wee bit of Herrmannesque slashing strings, and the novel use of echoplexed consonants (“ki-ki-ki, ma-ma-ma”) for the killer’s voice. The meticulous construction set the stan- dard for the slasher genre, even when budgets afforded a primordial synthe- sizer. Beautifully mastered in stereo, this purchase is a no-brainer. MRH 0000½
Heart” serve as connective tissue to a set of danceable garage rockers – including the smarmy punk of “The Devil’s Mark,” “The Curse” and “Pumpkin Carving Party” – spiked with campy organ and fun gang vo- cals. Singer/guitarist Myra’s voice may be an acquired taste – her deliv- ery being in the same high, loose tim- bre mined by the rock vixens in The Runaways or Veruca Salt – but her rock yowl on a cover of April March’s “Chick Habit” (keen listeners will rec- ognize the original from Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof) is just plain bottled seduction. Evil streaks al- right – as in running through this party naked. TT 000
THE EVIL STREAKS Talk to the Dead
ROCK
NECRO-TONE RECORDS Though its moniker may allude to a more sinister vibe, The Evil Streaks’ debut full-length, Talk to the Dead (the follow-up to 2011’s Go Go to Hell EP), is a spooky party starter that sounds like the B-52s playing a Hal- loween tribute show to the Cramps. Surfy instrumental ass-shakers such as “Danse Macabre” and “Haunted
FRIDAY THE 13TH Harry Manfredini
SOUNDTRACK
FRANKENWEENIE Danny Elfman
SOUNDTRACK
WALT DISNEY RECORDS There are three ways to regard Danny Elfman’s latest collaboration with Tim Burton. On the surface, it’s
LA-LA LAND RECORDS For those who missed out on the eight-disc box set that gathered every surviving cut from the first six installments of the franchise, the music of the original Friday the 13th has now been reissued as a non-lim- ited CD. (Note: the label has no plans to reissue the other discs.) Thirty-two years after its debut, Harry Manfre- dini’s F13 score remains an imagina- tive, cleverly constructed work, crafted with a limited selection of in- struments, and while the score is an obvious homage to Psycho, for the most part, the tiny music budget forced Manfredini to use ingenuity to make up for a lack of resources. The deceptively simple sounds are rooted in modern classical and experimental
TROGLODYTE Don’t Go in the Woods… NOMORETOMORROW RECORDS After opener “No Beast So Fierce” awakens with gui- tars as thick as the fur on Bigfoot’s back, cryptozoo- themed metal band Troglodyte lays waste to a dense audio forest with thirteen devastating blasts of “ne- andercore” – a fleet-footed yet ferocious strain of technical death that we first reported hearing in the area of Independence, Missouri. Like most cryptids captured on tape, Troglodyte al- ways leaves us wanting more; most of the songs clock in around two minutes, save for “The Trap is Set,” “Minnesota Iceman Cometh,” “Nowhere to Hide” and the con- tender for Best Title Ever, “Murderous Bi-Pedal Hominid Rampage (Where Are My Legs?),” which all stick around long enough for this abomination’s unearthly call to truly ripple down your spine. As he did for the foursome’s 2011 Welcome to Boggy Creek debut, Justin Osbourn (RM#126) has again supplied painterly album art so awesome it practically emanates the foul musk of an elusive monstrosity. Who knew being mauled by sasquatch would sound so good? TT 0000½