#Victoria Klinkhammer | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thesunlounge · 5 years

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Reviews 279: Bad Hammer

No release this year has taken hold of me quite like Extended Play, an ethereal, atmospheric, and lush collection of shadow pop epics written, performed, and produced by Lisa Klinkhammer and Johannes Badzura, otherwise known as Bad Hammer. I was first clued into to duo by Doom Chakra Tapes, who released Extended Play on cassette at the end of March, and as I found out later, this release was paralleled by a vinyl version on Klinkhammer’s and Badzura’s own Italian Island imprint. Now having spent a lot of time with both versions, I am overwhelmed by how dreamlike and intoxicating it all is, with vaporous synthesis overlaying rhythmic sways, twilit bass ambulations, and baritone guitars awash in spy movie twang and surf rock verb. The vocals move between romantic coos, swooning choruses, paradise whispers, and anthemic chants as Klinkhammer evokes some of my favorite vocal warriors from across the decades, with names such as Grace Slick, Siouxsie Sioux, Julee Cruise, Victoria Legrand, and Ruth Radelet coming to mind across the EP’s five delirious tracks. As well, her voice is sometimes backed by Badzura’s subdued and sleepy-eyed harmonies, and during the epic closer “Lost and Won,” Badzura fully assumes the lead with his deep and sensual croon. Taken altogether, it’s the kind of music that immerses the soul…the sonic equivalent of being surrounded by the ambient blues, glowing pinks, and deep purples of the album cover…a sort of druggy hazy fever dream of entrancing pop and Badalementi-infused nightscape sorcery that I could float within forever.

Bad Hammer - Extended Play (Italian Island / Doom Chakra, 2019) “Patients” begins with soft-focus synthesis billowing like fog and bringing to mind the cinematic hues of Cliff Martinez. The drums glide in with double-time hats and a downer post-punk energy while toms and snares smash around the spectrum and eventually, guitar riffs generate moody tracers alongside brass and string orchestrations that seem to swirl into a paradise haze. A voice enchants…cool yet affecting…and as we move into a sort of chorus, Klinkhammer pleads “follow me to patients night / come with me to patients night” as sensual basslines begin moving through droning pulses and shadowland slides. Fuzz guitars arc across the sky while everything slowly builds, with the vocals growing ever more desperate and searching…calling out powerfully until fading into reverberated ether. And all the while, new age chimes intertwine with glossy melodies while hovering spheroids glow in hues of twilight. Then in “Ghost,” acoustic drums pop under layers of spring reverb while thick and fuzzy synthesizers swell in on waves of sunshine. Sliding six-string leads and golden guitar arps background Klinkhammer’s dreamy singing, which hovers softly in the verse, creating a dreamsway of pastoral pop psychedelia. Once the chorus hits, the song explodes into an all out anthem and it’s impossible not to shout “I SAW A GHOST” in support of Klinkhammer’s majestic croon, with her voice wavering softly through natural vibrato as synthesizers buzz and smolder, bass guitars pulse on the beat, and guitars sparkle and shine through layers of white noise. After a bridge of haunted western slide guitar and surfadelic twang…a moment of post-rock saloon magic leading to whispers and synthesized radiance…we explode once more into the chorus, which eventually climaxes with a brief yet gorgeous solo of desert guitar mesmerism.

The downtempo disco rhythms of “Lovezone” flow like a fever dream while guitars glisten and palm-mute, snares decay, and cymbals swell into ether. It’s Bad Hammer outdoing Chromatics in atmospheric narco-pop perfection, with the dreamy vocals like wisps of light as the masculine and feminine unite in spiritual beauty. The mix is minimal and swathed in ethereality while progressively building towards a spectacular climax of moody baritone guitar perfection…a sort of spy flick theme moving through lands of purple vapor and infinite shadow and followed by Klinkhammer’s yearning voice….pleading into the darkness and nearly overtaking the mix through sheer diva power. Later, the duo execute a breathtaking transition and end up in a tribal stomp through realms of daydream heartache. Guitars swell through echo layers, cushiony bass synths float the soul, and vocals bubble into wordless magic, all childlike choirs and cooing comfort. And overhead, Klinkhammer’s lets loose an incredibly soulful and chilling performance…like an angel singing amidst a swirling storm of melancholy magic. In “Forever,” kick drums, tambourines, shakers, and snares generate an angular sway while FM chords waver over a lowslung bass guitar growl. Guitars slither around the fretboard and work into wonky wailing psychedelia, with everything wavering beneath chorus pedals and flangers. The lyrics speak of a “wooden house near the sea” between apathetic chants of “forever I wait / for you” and the chorus sees six-string and voice ascending together into falsetto strangeness. Sometimes the singing grows operatic and the guitars devolve into mirage renderings and watercolor mutations, with layer after layer intertwining as Badzura and Kinlkhammer swoon together, singing “waiting for you” alongside synthesizers that transmute into feedback.

Overdriven riffs palm-mute above heartbeat drum pulses, rimshots, woodblocks, and layers of dream synthesis in “Lost and Won,” with everything building in strength. The guitar begins spiraling as new age chimes and synthesized orchestrations rain down and eventually, the six-string erupts into soft-focus screaming, with anthemic leads tracked by ethereal electronics. Further guitars enter, resulting in dueling harmonies, searing solos, and stadium bombast and all the while, the drums continue pulsing while sometimes morphing through dub delays. At some point, Badzura’s affecting voice enters…bleary eyed, stoned out, and evoking legendary frontmen such as Bernard Sumner and Billy Idol…as snares drop and give the beat a sense of new wave propulsion. Burning fuzz guitars subsume the mix with layers of atmospheric sludge and towering basslines support the earworm “lost and won” hook that seems to circle all around the mix. Klinkhammer’s voice hovers around the edge of the stereo field and adds touches of paradise magic while elsewhere, guitars solo like Major Star through overwhelming sub-bass pressure waves before exploding into a maximalist dreamscape of descending harmonic radiance. Though “Lost and Won” is officially the album closer, there’s a secret track that follows seeing bongos and congas pan around the spectrum while minimalistic idiophones conjure a fourth world jungle climate. Bass pulses and soft synth chords give the groove shape as cymbals and gongs crash, with everything evoking the work of D.K. And Klinkhammer sings in pure emotional wonderment, wavering in and our of key irresistibly…the effect like the fragility of a French chanteuse, only as if surrounded by vaporous synth progressions, moon-soaked guitar leads, expressive hand drumming, and swelling metal shimmer.

(images from my personal copy)

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