Thursday, December 18, 2008

time to get TOTALed


for today's dose of matthew bower, i bring you Total -Sky Blue Void. this release was recorded in 1993-1994 and was a big departure for bower at this time, where he was mostly just destroying minds with skullflower. to me it sounds like he was laying the basis for what would later become hototogisu, many undercurrents of static hums underneath the main focus, which tends to be the guitars. on this album, Bower is credited with playing "guitar, classical guitar, vacuum cleaner, metal, radios". that should give you an idea of what this might sound like. he is also joined by some guests, including one of richard youngs' favorite collaborators, Simon Wickham-Smith.

this is a great album and fucking hard to find. i kind of wish Bower had stuck with the Total project, it's an interesting departure for him, because instead of just trying to crack your skull with feedback he's trying to lull you with prettiness as well.

for fans of Bower's other bands, Family Underground, the noisier moments of Thuja, and the ring of New Zealand bands that also like to use vacuum cleaners as instruments (Dead C, Sandosz Lac Technicians, BCM, etc.)

Total - Sky Blue Void
http://www.mediafire.com/?frmo1jzjwmy

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