Friday 21 October 2011

Charles Lays Down His Curse Once More With Feeling


The first Sonic Masala Presents... showcase was little over a month ago, but it warrants another mention due to the great performance by opening act Charles Curse. The artist (AKA Greg Charles) released a great little album a few years ago on Olde English Spelling Bee called Rain In Skull, and finally the second instalment of this always interesting musical walkabout has dropped. Stomac is a incredibly raw collection of tracks that is as exhilarating as it is unhinged, its murky, rust-covered production combining with off-kilter vocals, cracked folk trappings, noisy interludes, warped sonic manipulations, crappy drum machines and oddly syncopated beats to create something that is truly grimy, original and often stunning.

Here's Charles' take on the whole shebang...

"From 2008-2011 a monstrous catharsis of recordings and layers of tracks, in a strictly improvised nature, were recorded onto Garageband with a view to mix and compress into higher quality files, but alas, my Mac got stolen in June 2011. As heart breaking as suffering machine grief is, especially when your prized photography, film, and fresh sonic pieces are taken away, (not backed up, stupidly) the positive aspect out of all this business was that I had previously sent WHNZ a lo-fi punk-damaged eclectik (sic) brood of songs, with a view to improve them in format and increase clarity and boost production. But the best one can do in crisis is to make do with what's left after the smoke clears, and as a result the tracks are going to be released in strict punk rock skronk hiss clouds and whacked aural blowjobs, thanks to the long roped patience of the label and their empathy towards my reluctance to just release any old shit. But after my last release Rain In Skull, which was a heavily conceptual, organik (sic) mind trip into a young man trying to deal with fatherhood, with a strong emphasis on a smooth, clear psychotropic journey, this recording is like a fucking White Album - throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks. Or even a Big Star third type thing. Actually I have no idea what it sounds like. I can't listen to 'em anyway! It's a throw it out, big hairy balls to the icy breeze, a bile that sounds like 52 different bands. It's a mess. It's punk rock. It's a 180 degree turn from the prog-claustrophobian slickness and shine of Rain In Skull. It is what it is. Enjoy STOMAC — instantaneous bursts of angst, humour, vagueness and audio verite, it's fuckin punk all right you cunts."


Language, cuz! Put out by Ukrainian label WeHaveNoZen, Stomac is a free digital release that you can rip and roll here.

Charles Curse - Reunion Boycott Blues
Charles Curse - Light, Light (My Pink Bits Are Infinitive)

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