AMERICANAROUND-UP
NEW ALBUMS
AMERICANA
Country, bluegrass, folk and more
RETO STERCHI
26 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019
CARTERTUTTIVOID
Triumvirate
CONSPIRACYINTERNATIONAL
8/10
Finalalbumfromelectronics
heavyweighttrio
Fortheirthirdandfinal
album,ChrisCarter
andCoseyFanniTutti
(ThrobbingGristle,Chris
& Cosey)andNikVoid
(FactoryFloor)reacha
particularlyrefined,rarefiedplace.Building
fromrhythmsprogrammedbyCarter,Tutti
andVoidinjectelectronicincidentintothe
gapsleftbytheimposing,stentorianbeats.
Theentirealbumsharesa similarcast– a
kindofgun-metalgreyness– butinstead
ofhomogenisingtheset,thismakesthese
sprawlingtechnoodysseyscohereintoa
gloriousmassofmechanicalpsychedelia.
There’ssomethingthrillingaboutthequartz-
likedetailofTr ium v irate, anditsuncanny
balanceofprecision and improvisation.
JONDALE
CFM
Soundtrack To An Empty Room
INTHERED
8/10
ThelatestfromLagunaBeach’sother
other wunderkind
CharlesMoothartmight
havetakenlongertostarta
solocareerthanhisfriends
TySegallandMikalCronin,
buthe’smadeupforit
since 2017 witha braceof
fuzzy,psych-garageLPs.SoundtrackToAn
EmptyRoomis histhird,andbestyet,with
Moothartstreamlininghisoccasionally
messytendenciesintoninestraight-ahead
tracks.“BlackCat”and“Sequence”
startproceedingswithgloriousmotorik-
Sabbathriffs,butthingscooldownwiththe
acousticguitarandMellotronreveriesof
“Greenlight”.Closer“Peace”,meanwhile,
whetstheappetiteforanyreturnbyFuzz,
SegallandMoothart’spowertrio.Until
then,thevital,energisedSoundtrack...
willdojustfine.TOMPINNOCK
C H A S T I T YB E LT
ChastityBelt
HARDLYART
6/10
LanguidWashingtonrockersdouble
down on fourthlong-player
Theswirlingjamsofthe
foursome’s 2017 album,
I UsedToSpendSoMuch
TimeAlone, earnedthe
warmestreviewsandwidest
audiencesoftheirnear-
decadelifespan.Here,theypurposefully
applybrakestothatmomentumwith
a collectionthateschewsallexternal
pressures.Thatcocoonedapproachsuits
- someofthetime.Thewoozypsych-rock
patternsarefamiliar– thepleasantlyfloaty
“Elena”andthecreepingviolin-assisted
standout“Effort”– butthesubtlemelodies
ofoldarehardertopick.Toself-titlethe
albumis deliberate;a defianthand-stamp
thatreclaimswhatChastityBeltmeansto
them.Commendable,evenif thecontents
areoccasionallya little too meandering.
GREG COCHRANE
It’sbeenthreeyearssinceSturgill
Simpson’s(pictured)lastalbum,A Sailor’s
GuideToEarth. Buthe’sfinallyannounced
hislatest,dueforreleaseonElektrathis
autumn,withanaccompanyinganimefilm
onNetflix.TalkingupSound& Furywith
filmmakersJumpeiMizusakiand
TakashiOkazakiatSanDiego
Comic-Con,Simpsonpromised
“areallysleazy,steamy
rock’n’rollrecord.It’sdefinitely
mymostpsychedelicandalso
myheaviest.I hadthisidea
thatit’dbereallycoolto
animatesomeofthesesongs,
andweendedupwitha
futuristic,dystopian,post-
apocalypticsamurai
film.”Onmorefamiliar
territory, Canadian duo
Kacy& Claytonreturnin earlyOctober
withCarryingOnNEWWEST. Aswith2017’s
wonderfulTheSiren’sSong, thealbum
wasproducedbyWilco’sJ e f fTwe e d y.
ClaytonLinthicumcitesBobbieGentry,Hoyt
Axton,CajunfiddlemusicandBakersfield
countryasstylisticinfluences.Tweedy
statesthatCarryingOnfindsthem
“takingthethingstheylovesointimately
andtellingtheirownstory”.Alsodue
thatmonthisWhiteNoise/WhiteLines
fromKelseyWaldon,onJohnPrine’s
OhBoylabel.Hailingfromthebrilliantly
namedKentuckyenclaveofMonkey’s
Eyebrow,Waldonspecialisesin
rugged,timelesscountrywith
plentyofsoul,namingRalph
StanleyandAnnPeebles
askeysignposts.
ROB HUGHES
WoodenWand’sJamesTothfirst
metNickMitchellMaiatomore
thana decadeago,whenthe
latterhadbookedhimfora show
inManchester.Bondingover
a sharedloveofCrazyHorse,
LittleFeatandtheGratefulDead,thepairvowed
togettogethertomakemusicatsomepointin
thefuture.Fastforwardto 2018 and,undaunted
bycontinentalseparation,OneElevenHeavy
issueddebutLPEverything’sBetteronMaiato’s
ownKith& Kinlabel.Asidefromthetwosinger-
guitarists,thegroupwasimpressivelyfleshed
outbyRoyalTruxbassistDanBrown,theSolar
MotelBand’sdrummerRyanJewellandmighty
keyboardistHansChew.
Nowthey’veslimmeddown(Jewellcouldn’t
makeit thistimeround)forDesirePath. A
thrillingracketit is too,thequartetachieving
a winningbalanceofimprovandmelodic
sussona bunchofhairypsychedelicjams
thatborrowfromtheDeadaesthetic– roughly
AmericanBeautythroughtoWakeOfThe
Flood – without ever seeking to replicate it.
Thisis Americanaatitsmostperipatetic,a
feastofCosmicAmericanMusicthatdaresto
travelwhereverit likes,pickingupsporesalong
theway.Funkyguitarsdriveattheheartof
“Chickenshit”,beforethesongmorphsintoa
terrificextemporisedgroove.Thecountryboogie
of“WildHair”andtheAllmans-like“Stir”play
it comparativelystraight,butthespidery“Hot
PotatoSoup”is moreexperimental,everything
shiftingslowlyaroundanoff-gridbluesriffwith
echoesofNeilYoung.
Chewoffershisfirsttwocompositionswith
OneElevenHeavy.Thefirstis “FickleWind”,a
finecountryishchooglethatsuggestschange
isn’talwaysnecessarilya goodthing.“House
OfCards”,meanwhile,carriesa looseSouthern
rockfeelwitha dirtygreatbluesbreak,bringing
tomindtheearly’70swanderlustofRyCooder.
Elsewhere,“ThreePoisons”is a sensory
exchangeoffunk,freejazzandsinewyguitar-
rockthatfeelslikeanoutcropofWhiteDenim
circaD. It alsocontainseverythingthatmakes
DesirePathsoeuphoric, inspired and infectious.
ROB HUGHES
ONE ELEVEN HEAVY
DesirePath
BEYONDBEYONDIS BEYOND
8/10
Superior post-Dead jams from underground supergroup
Sturgill
Simpson
