mappingthestatic

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American d.va in Light (Cosplayer: @kekkuda-cos)

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busted     broken     forgotten.

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HUTZ

1999

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HUTZ

2099 @rabbitohsfan123​

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I K A R I

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Another Griffith photo shoot with @kekkuda-cos. This time on location!

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Another photoset with @kekkuda-cos as D.Va (Palanquin)! Some weather mishaps combined with camera issues led to a not-so-fun time, but still decent photos were taken.

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Self Portrait

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@kekkuda-cos‘s shiny Phosphophyllite cosplay. The umpteenth and final cosplay of Tokyo in Tulsa 2018

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Amazing Griffith cosplay by @kekkuda-cos. It won 1st place at the con’s cosplay competition!

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@kekkuda-cos‘s masterwork shitpost: The Ghost of Eva Future

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@kekkuda-cos‘s beautiful cosplay of Kyubey from Madoka Magica at Tokyo in Tulsa, 2018.

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Stray photos of a Kindred cosplay by @kekkuda-cos taken on University Campus during an event.

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The Troubled Sleep of Piano Magic

Say a prayer, for Saint Marie.

Whew. This track is absolutely captivating. Glen Johnson delivers dark and evocative lyrics on top of some spaced-out guitar that eventually transforms into a completely hypnotic patchwork of soft guitars melodies, electronic drum rhythms, and calming synthesizers lines. It would be a phenomenal track on its own, and in fact, I argue that the song itself is justification enough for listening to the whole album. Yet Saint Marie merely begins the tense adventure that is The Troubled Sleep of Piano Magic by, who other than, Piano Magic.

Starting off as a musical collective, Piano Magic has crafted several unique albums that makes the band difficult to classify into a single genre. Their earliest work, Popular Mechanics, is an odd hodgepodge of electronic experimentation, dark ambient, and sparse vocal melodies. Later on albums like Low Birth Weight, the group started to take on a dark and ethereal Dream Pop-vibe, not unlike a more abstract form of This Mortal Coil. By the time the collective (lead by Glen Johnson) reached the release of The Troubled Sleep of Piano Magic, their 7th album, in 2003, their music was most easily described under the Post-Rock banner. Despite all the implications that Post-Rock in the early 2000s may have brought, Piano Magic definitely exceeds expectations on this stunning release.

First and foremost, the album is incredibly varied. But don’t let that give you the impression that the album is just a collection of miscellaneous songs with no ultimate aim. The Troubled Sleep of Piano Magic still manages to hold an unbelievable thematic unity throughout. From Saint Marie to Luxembourg Gardens, each song feels dark, sinister, and evokes a sense of fragility and total despair that underpin humanity’s lifelong struggle.

Regardless of a song’s tempo, vocalist, or dynamics, each track manages to instill in the listener a sense of anxiety. Johnson and co. have crafted a brilliant collection of lyrics that remind us that we are not living life, but that life is living us. Despite the common belief that we have agency over our eventual outcome, The Troubled Sleep of Piano Magic stresses that we are not as in control of our lives as we think. Instead, other people, our environment, and cruel fate dictate our entire life. Piano Magic want you to really understand that reality is at the mercy of chaos...No wonder why the group has trouble sleeping.

Johnson’s vocals--a la Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan--range from subtly sinister on tracks like When I’m Done, This Night Will Fear Me and The End of a Dark, Tired Year, to incredibly fragile on other songs like Speed the Road, Rush The Lights and The Tollbooth Martyrs. Sometimes angry, and sometimes sombre, he still hones in a feeling of helplessness the whole way through. Angèle David-Guillou‘s melancholic vocals provide a gentler touch on Help Me Warm This Frozen Heart and Luxembourg Gardens, yet she manages to still capture that same feeling of unspeakable dread. The album’s closer, Comets, features David-Guillou quelling the listeners fears by reminding us that a fleeting life is a beautiful thing. In a sense, finally pulling us out of the nightmare that is The Troubled Sleep of Piano Magic and bringing us into the sobering and hopeful morning.

You just can't wait for the right time because like comets It could be the last time. You should always tell them you love them In case you never see them again.

The blend of Electronic, Folk, Dream Pop, Dark Ambient, Slowcore, and Post-Rock that Piano Magic presents on The Troubled Sleep of Piano Magic is without a doubt worth your time. The album paints a portrait of life that expertly shows how fragile of an existence we all cling to. So if you find yourself walking through the city at midnight or if, like me, you end up driving through seemingly endless fields during the darkest hours of the night, and you’re feeling sinister, then don’t listen to If You’re Feeling Sinister, listen to The Troubled Sleep of Piano Magic and thank me later.

The Troubled Sleep of Piano Magic is out of print, but it can be purchased used on Discogs. If you would like to support the (recently defunct) band, please consider purchasing some of their merch on their official website.

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Completely Removed

Faraquet takes a breather.

Well…not entirely. Faraquet disbanded after The View From This Tower and two of the trio’s members–lead guitarist/vocalist Devin Ocampo and drummer turned bassist Chad Molter–formed Medications a few years later with drummer Andrew Becker. Instead diving further into their explorations of Prog-Hardcore (Note: Yeah, I just did that), the group made a surprising turn and started leaning closer to Indie Rock. This may be a turn-off for some fans of The View From This Tower, but the new indie style Medications rocks on 2010′s Completely Removed is great in it’s own way.

Am I the only one who’s been losing hope for the future of Indie Rock? It seems the only new artist/group of note from this decade is Will Toledo’s Car Seat Headrest, and I personally am not growing on him. I can’t fault him for his early Lo-Fi work considering his situation but…Even after getting signed to Matador he produces an album that seems to rely heavier on Lo-Fi sensibility than quality songwriting. To use him as an example, is Indie Rock becoming a dying genre because it has become associated purely with Lo-Fi worship? My answer: probably. Groups that helped to keep Indie Rock evolving in the 2000s such as Arcade Fire and St. Vincent have walked away from the genre entirely, leaving only tired names like The National and Deerhunter to fend for the genre’s longevity. It’s a sad thought, but luckily there are still rays of light like Completely Removed that remind the listener that Indie Rock is more than the sum of it’s parts, not just a production sound.

Like Faraquet, Medications can’t be caught doing the same thing for too long. Although Completely Removed doesn’t make the same sharp musical turns that The View From This Tower was prone to within each track, each song definitely feels like well…completely removed from the rest. Despite this, the album doesn’t feel thematically aimless. It’s always Indie Rock with some occasional Math-Rock leanings. And to me, that balance of genre unity and song uniqueness is a very hard thing to do. I love Slanted & Enchanted, but I’ll be damned if I don’t conflate Trigger Cut and No Life Singed Her together sometimes. Hell, tell me with a straight face you don’t think half of Stratosphere sounds exactly the same.

I can’t admit that you’re going to love this album unconditionally. Even though I find it as a nice release in modern Indie Rock, I can’t deny that some tracks (I’m looking at you, Kilometers and Smiles) might not rub you the right way. And despite the connections, Medications is not Faraquet in the slightest. The head-turning moments on songs like Sea Song and Conceptual Separation of Self aren’t to be found here. But that’s absolutely fine. Moments like that, I think, don’t belong on an Indie Rock album. Instead, there’s bound to be at least a few songs on here that you’ll get a ton of listening enjoyment out of. The sweet piano/guitar lines on Tame On the Prowl along with its chorus of

I am / Dying / To Bring / Us enough

is incredibly satisfying. Brazil ‘07′s mellow tone and use of Marimba/Xylophone/Vibraphone/Glorious Metal Rectangle Sound Apparatus gives it a unique (well, at least for the album) atmosphere. Ocampo and Molter’s combined vocal work also create some notable moments. Country Air’s vocal melodies are pleasing, and their rhythmic back-and-forth on Rising to Sleep is catchy. The infectious Seasons lays itself out simply, but the chorus shared between Ocampo and Molter will without a doubt leave you coming back for more.

It doesn’t look like Medications will be putting out any more output soon (Ocampo has moved on to lead The Effects), but Completely Removed, I think, serves as a reminder for what makes Indie Rock so enjoyable in the first place. Although sometimes going for a particular production ‘sound’ can help bolster a record’s Indie ‘cred’, it doesn’t really matter. Pavement outgrew it, Built to Spill never needed it, and I’m sure Yo La Tengo were never fans of it in the first place. Indie Rock has a somehow scientific and yet undefinable style. The singer has an undeniable charm, the songs are somehow both incredibly ironic and hurtfully sincere, the songs walk the line between modern despair and childlike wonder, etc. All of these elements and so much more are found in all of the classics, and they’re also found on Completely Removed to some degree. And even though this album probably won’t blow you away like Perfect From Now On, or I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One would for the first time, it deserves far more attention than what it’s gotten. So can Indie Rock overcome the culture of idolatry that it transformed into? Can the genre do something new? Let’s take a word from Medications on that one:

The seasons they change And why think they wouldn’t? Then start all over.

Completely Removed was published by Dischord and can be purchased on their Bandcamp

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The View From This Tower

Post-Hardcore has never felt so un-Post-Hardcore.

Just listen to Cut Self Not and tell me with a straight face that it’s run-of-the mill Post-Hardcore. Sure, the opening moments throw a flurry of breakneck drum rhythms and distorted guitar lines that puts Post-Hardcore right at home, but it doesn’t take long for Faraquet to turn expectations on their heads. Fifty seconds in, we’re suddenly pulled out of the hectic soundscape and lulled to a calm. The guitars are no longer on the attack, instead opting for a more dreamlike vibe. A moment ago they were 90s Punk Rockers, but without notice Faraquet transforms themselves into what sounds like an aimless Jazz trio. Just as quickly as the this newfound sound hits it’s stride however, the group suddenly jolts back into a fury--marching on to the song’s end with a patchwork of melodies and rhythms.

Coming out of the 90s D.C. scene, it was only natural that the Post-Hardcore/Math Rock/Indie Rock/[Insert cool sounding word here] Rock trio Faraquet would be forgotten by most. After all, Fugazi’s string of 90s albums had made them the kings of the D.C. scene. And by the turn of the century, Emergency & I saw The Dismemberment Plan transformed from a “Surprisingly thoughtful” Post-Hardcore group to pioneers of the new millennium. Being awarded Pitchfork’s 1999 Album of the Year, even after The Soft Bulletin received a perfect score, only cemented The Plan as legends. Between all of that frenzy, who would have blamed you for missing out on a Fugazi label-mate that only put out one 36 minute album before disbanding?

Despite all that, Faraquet has acquired a respectable following, at least as respectable as a one-album-band can reasonably get. The praise is without a doubt deserved, as The View From This Tower packs in it’s 36 minute runtime  a staggering amount of high quality music. Carefully Planned moves with an irresistible rhythm and confidence that makes the song feel well...carefully planned. So carefully planned, in fact, that Faraquet manages to bring out the Bongos for a bit of a jam without completely alienating the listener. Song for Friends to Me carries an intense amount of Post-Hardcore energy. But as with everything else on the album, the song reverses expectations. Instead of pulling from Punk influences to find it’s strength, Faraquet channels Larks’ Tongues era King Crimson to achieve an incredibly heavy sound--horn section included. Conceptual Separation of Self, which crossfades with Song for Friends to Me, takes the group in an entirely new direction--swapping out Post-Hardcore/Math Rock motifs for a full blown string section. The track slowly builds, with pizzicato and bowed violins/cellos complimenting subdued guitar plucking and Ocampo’s vocals. A satisfying climax is eventually reached, perfectly balancing Faraquet’s angular melodies with the string section’s majestic sound. Seriously, these guys were really on to something incredible.

Even after all the praise I just lumped onto Conceptual Separation of Self, I can’t confidently say it’s the greatest song on the album. Sea Song begins with one of the most riveting guitar riffs to grace post-90s Indie music and ends with one of the greatest Rock call-and-responses to exist outside of Larks’ and Red era Crimson. If it wasn’t clear by the references so far, Faraquet is impressively as Progressive Rock as they are Post-Hardcore. The View from This Tower only further accents this, with so much emphasis placed on the rhythm and form that I’m completely convinced that Progressive Rock should be used to describe the group’s sound. But even with the Prog-Rock sheen, Faraquet stands strongest as a brilliant combination of Post-Hardcore and Math Rock. The group’s technical edge allowed them to reign in vocalist/guitarist Devin Ocampo’s emo styling for an incredibly varied and visceral experience. They somehow managed to incorporate several unconventional instruments with great success. The string section on Conceptual Separation of Self is only rivaled by Unwound’s masterwork Terminus for being the greatest orchestral work in the Post-Hardcore genre. Even the banjo playing on Study in Complacency is tasteful. In no other context could I say that banjo plus ANYTHING Post-Hardcore could be tasteful. If that isn’t argument enough to plunk down the 36 minutes so you can listen to The View From This Tower, then I think nothing will convince you.

Both The View from This Tower and their more recent collection Anthology can be picked up from Dischord’s website or bandcamp.

[mappingthestatic]

Ecco Locale

Cold and metallic, yet filled with a comforting warmth...

That’s the most pretentious way I could think of to describe Melbourne Australia’s self proclaimed most pretentious band, half / cut. Think I’m lying?  

But in all seriousness, half / cut are really something worth talking about. The group released their debut album, Ecco Locale, last year to sadly no worthy fanfare. I will say that their most popular song on Spotify just barely eclipses a thousand total listens, so they’re at least the most popular group to be mentioned here, but once again they deserve far more praise. But why? Let me run you down the checklist to see if you should continue

half / cut essentials

A love for Dream Pop

Especially Cocteau Twins

An appreciation for Slowcore

You don’t have to love it, but it certainly helps

Enjoyment of Repetition

The concept or the Unwound album will do

Ability to accept the fact that this band only has 38 minutes of recorded material to their name

If you find yourself saying yes to these questions, then go grab a copy of this album ASAP, you won’t regret it. Love the melodies of Slowdive? You’ll find yourself at home with Ecco Locale. Wish Bluetile Lounge got the recognition they desperately deserved? You can help build the recognition of a group of people who think the exact same thing. And, since this band is still around, there’s plenty of hope that last bullet point won’t be there for long.

half / cut’s instrumentals are lush, melancholic, but somehow comforting. It’s quite clear by their sound they owe a lot to the late and great Bluetile Lounge. And if that wasn’t enough, their name is a direct reference to Bluetile Lounge’s final (and underlooked) release, Half-Cut. But while plenty of people would be offended by a blatant comparison, I honestly mean it in the best way possible. I think these guys saw the brilliance in releases like lowercase and Half-Cut and decided to re-contextualize that brilliance in new ways. They didn’t just make a bandcamp to release a few Duster/Low/Bedhead/Codeine/Bluetile Lounge rip-off tracks recorded from their bedrooms at 2 AM and then give up after one E.P. (half of it being covers). They did what great albums do: take great things, combine them, and make it great in it’s own way. And Ecco Locale definitely is a great album. But instead of trying to describe it anymore, how about you just go listen to it already?

half / cut’s music can be purchased on bandcamp (alright so they might have opened up a bandcamp). They also post on Facebook.