Michael Feuerstack, Mahogany Frog, and DISHPIT
Michael Feuerstack
Harmonize The Moon // Forward Music Group
Michael Feuerstack’s Harmonize The Moon is a lovely and quietly intense collection of songs, a diatribe on past experiences, observed after the dust has settled on them.
Feuerstack whispers into our ears like he would a sleeping giant, catering to its erratic, frightful nature. His gentle voice woos it to a state of placidity whereby off kilter messages can be delivered. His voice seems almost apologetically sweet, like if it wasn’t, some precarious balance would be upset. There seems a presence, something large, perhaps colossal, in the quiet intensity of the music.
The songs tiptoe delicately, in moments of still when “no hard rain, no caustic wind blows”, and take position next to the object, capturing “the shape of it, the silhouette, [before it has] stepped into the light just yet.”
It’s as though Feuerstack crafts songs out of memories that have not been laid to rest, and these quiet tunes serve to redress them.
Indeed, it is not the initial impact that he draws from, nor is it the first, second, nor third aftershock, but the small waves that ripple in afterwards, the softer distillations, that resonate throughout Harmonize The Moon.
These songs resonate with size, shape and gravity, in such a sweet and tender way.
- JD Ormond
Mahogany Frog
Mahogany Frog In the Electric Universe // Moon June Records
At this stage, Winnipeg’s Mahogany Frog (MF) are verging on legendary status. For over 20 years the four piece have been providing sprawling psychedelic sounds and wild tripped out performances. In the Electric Universe marks the band’s seventh album, the first since 2012’s Juno nominated Senna. While In the Electric Universe has been in the works for over six years, Mahogany Frog managed to sprinkle in numerous projects amongst writing for the record. In 2017 MF debuted their live score to F. W. Murnau's 1926 silent film “Faust”. They performed the score alongside the film at numerous classic movie theaters across the prairies, with the band recently teasing a vinyl release of recordings of tracks from their score. There's also mention of an upcoming release of new music from what the band calls the “baroque sessions.” Needless to say it sounds like fans of the Winnipeg psychsters patience will soon be paying off with more exciting releases to come from the band. And if In the Electric Universe is a tease into the current direction of the band there is lots to be excited about.
In the Electric Universe is a fantastic album to escape into. Due to MF adhering to a strictly instrumental form, their songs often break free from traditional structures. This freedom from traditional form largely gives MF’s music a very theatrical quality as if each song is telling a sonic narrative. The lack of lyrics provides listeners a backdrop to get lost in their own version of what that narrative may be.
It’s hard not to lose yourself in the density of everything within the tracks. The leads and melodies are strong enough to enjoy at a distance but it’s in a deeper listening experience where the greatness of MF is revealed. The layers of textural synths and over effected guitars give every song a huge fullness. The rhythm section of the bass and percussion provide a gripping foundation that drives the tracks along but the tonal detail within the synths and guitars make the album. With the sensory overload of the grandest moments throughout the record, the songs have a trance-like quality. Some moments go so far to become somewhat disorienting (in a good way). It becomes easy to grab onto the lead lines, hooks, and rhythm sections but most of these tracks contain cycling arpeggiating synths, unconcerned in unifying with the track that have a dizzying effect on the listener.
In the Electric Universe has a very cyclical nature to it. More often than not MF manage to let the listener down back where the song started, coming full circle. Adding to the trancey motif of the album, repetition takes a strong conceptual presence. In a jammy fashion, the band extendedly ride out certain themes and melodies. These same melodies and themes re-appear numerous times throughout the tracks but each time new variations develop, giving new context to the same pieces. Through these variations and the introduction of new tones, MF keep the listener gripped through the repetition. Layers of ambient synth, overblown guitars and warped tape delays sprinkled underneath fill out the space for a truly saturated listening experience.
While the album has a very cohesive feel that leans into the qualities that make Mahogany Frog distinctly themselves, within their sound the band is fearless in throwing in new and different influences. Mahogany Frog are without a doubt a heavy psych band. Beyond that they are quite hard to pin down. There are numerous experimental, free flowing ambient moments, heavy handed beats that would sit comfortable on a hip hop record, moments where they break from electronics and shape around upright bass and jazzy piano hooks, light playful moments that lean more into theatrical imagery than vast textures. In the Electric Universe gives the feel that Mahogany Frog are not at all concerned with fitting into anyone's idea of what they should be, but rather uninhibitedly free to explore new sounds, structures and concepts in a seemingly very natural and playful way and it's within this spirit that their sound forms.
- Kennedy Pawluk
DISHPIT
DIPSHIT // Self Released
DIPSHIT is the first full-length studio album by Montreal-based trio DISHPIT, much delayed and long-awaited. DIPSHIT comes after the group has already seen a successful tour of the UK and received national attention off the strength of a couple singles and the eccentric, chaotic energy of their live shows. A self-described feminist and absurdist approach to post-punk and grunge culminates with DIPSHIT in an energy and sound that, aside from solid musicianship, leaps across genres and conventions to bring something that is chaotic, unapologetically feminine, and unique.
Heavy hitting and fun, DIPSHIT is high energy from the very beginning and stays that way for the duration of the record. The instrumentation jumps continually, even within most of the songs on this project, from twinkling and thoughtful, to high-speed riffing, to all-out barrages of sound, to pure seeping sludge. Constant face-scrunching switch-ups and breakdowns scream that DISHPIT refuses to be anything but extraordinary, and plan to take up every inch of space they can get. In the same vein, Nora Kelly’s vocalization refuses to rest, soaring, screaming, yipping, harmonizing, settling for nothing less than evoking each of the artists many influences all at once and making them her own.
DISHPIT recorded this first project with the help of Steve Albini, who also recorded Nirvana and The Pixies, and their influence from those acts is clear. DISHPIT mumbles and croons angstily, riffing and chugging. Beyond their obvious affection for grunge and indie, however, DISHPIT also pushes the envelope. On one of their earliest singles from DIPSHIT, “Trash Queen”, the trio opts for a more punk vibe, sitting right near the middle of the album and being a fun deviation from the more morose tones on the project and also exactly what you would want from a song called “Trash Queen”. On “This Time”, Nora Kelly contrasts some classic grunge vibes with a little bit of hardcore yell-y vocals, blending a wide vocal and stylistic range into the trio’s chaotic style.
DIPSHIT is, more than anything, a dynamic project. Gnarly and intricate switch-ups weave together a tangled web of influences and experimentations that make up something unique and engaging. DIPSHIT’s chaotic sound is the perfect backdrop for its subject matter: the everyday horrors of womanhood, capitalism, and musicianship, manifested angrily, succinctly, and skillfully.
- Devon Acuña
