Lightman Jarvis Ecstatic Band, Rhythm of Cruelty, and Dark Bird
Lightman Jarvis Ecstatic Band
Banned // Flemish Eye
The debut album from duo Yves Jarvis and Romy Lightman, Banned, is an extensive work that beautifully demonstrates the pair's combined creativity and experimental style. Recorded in the Tree Museum, an art gallery in rural Ontario (Look it up – it’s an unreal looking place), the pair credits this serene environment as the muse towards their uninhibited approach towards musical creation.
The album mostly takes an acid-folk sound, with reverberated vocals and springs of musical chaos coated in an acoustic shell. The 15 tracks vary in length, some songs last three to five minutes while others just pass the one minute mark. This further emphasises their rejection of pop structure and their passion for artistic expression. This theme of removing repression is not just in their musical approach but also in their lyricism which speaks of free love, inviting the listener into a liberating journey through the mind of an artist.
I’ve mentioned this before but two things that I love to hear in an album are when a song ends abruptly and when a song seamlessly transitions into the next. I don’t know why but it always leaves an impression on me. Lightman Jarvis does both, the first in the fifth track “Trillium”, and the second is done several times, my personal favourite being between the songs “Elastic Band” and “Lift My Heart”.
Now, I don’t want to make this album sound like it’s all trees, flowers, and fluffy clouds, because to approach a lack of inhibition is to not just allow the expression of love, but also of pain. Basically, the album gets pretty darn spooky at times. A good example is the haunting track “Mother’s Rope”, which takes monotone singing interwoven with a chaotic drum beat. Of course, this is immediately followed by the bluesy, upbeat track “Slick Oil”.
That’s what I love about when artists experiment and tickle their interpretive sides; it creates a work devoid of genre restrictions and gives the artist and listener freedom to feel where the music takes them as opposed to what the music tells them. It’s this expression that drives us to be artists in the first place, and to display this expression with pure passion is courageous and inexplicably dutiful, as what people need more is the willingness to explore our own minds and hearts.
- Brandon Kruze
Rhythm of Cruelty
Memory Lapse // Self Released
Eyes blurred, focus evaporates. Thinking about nothing, yet thinking about everything. A haze of existentialism surrounds as you’re awakened by your long-smouldering cigarette ashing onto your thigh.
“Dude you okay?” Your friend asks through drooping eyelids.
“Yeah man, I just zoned out for a second there.”
Rhythm of Cruelty serves an understated dish of existential crises with their latest offering Memory Lapse. An instrumental deep dive into the “resiliency and fragility of the human mind”, Rhythm of Cruelty makes sure that no one can escape their overwhelming haze of muddled memories, haunting hindsight, and fleeting hope as they bury you in existential mud.
The short, 6-track listing offers up a glimpse into the themes explored: "IN THE LIGHT OF SHAME, we pick apart these FLEETING MOMENTS to get A GOOD VIEW OF DESOLATION. With the CAPACITY TO HEAL, NOCTURNAL THOUGHTS serve as ways to prevent the MEMORY LAPSE." From that prompt, Rhythm of Cruelty grabs you by the ankle and drags you into sonic quicksand as they pummel you with haunting moods that envelope even the hardest of psyches.
Sometimes sanguine, sometimes cacophonous, but most often foreboding, Memory Lapse uses a variety of tones driven by a singular fixture: Brandi’s crooning trumpet. Like spring blossoms, drum loops build slowly and fade quickly. Familiar yet indistinguishable samples and tones pull you in just to leave you feeling uneasy as you struggle to pinpoint their source. Gentle electronics provide the only peace and semblance of comfort in the form of short, repeated loops, but whatever comfort the melodies provide serves only to darken that haze that inevitably returns.
As I listened to this album, thunder rolled gently into the distance as a haze of smoke pulled me deeper into the couch. Not only does it provide the listener the space to emote deeply, it also evokes moods that would make one hell of a movie score. When the rain is falling and the mood darkens, Memory Lapse is the catalyst to pull you deeper inside yourself, whether you want it or not.
- Clay Geddert
Dark Bird
Out of Line // Cardinal Fuzz & Noise Agony Mayhem
What do you do for self care? I like to be outdoors in nature. I also love being in or near the water. So I’d like to share with you my latest and favourite addition to my self-care regimen. It’s called…
Dark Bird - Out of Line. Get ready for this trip through time, space and all dimensions. A psychedelic journey that opens the mind. Let the love-light in cause the dark night of soul is over. We’re moving forward into a time when the old ways aren’t working anymore. A time when we no longer harm each other or harm this earth. Where love really is the answer. Dark Bird’s energy is very uplifting. They describe this album as the silver lining around that dark cloud. It’s hopeful and optimistic. There is a reminiscent feeling of early Pink Floyd. I can hear bits of it at times.
Out of Line helped me to feel centered, balanced again. A divine way to release the feelings of the day or maybe this is like a new modern hippie movement. Either way count me in! Are you ready?
The album begins with “It All Ends Well.” An intriguing opening. Has a new yet familiar feeling. “I see the light” is sung. It ruminates a 60’s acid trip in the desert. Beautiful etheric vocals encapsulated in this track. The guitar is so very mesmerizing and the sweet drawl of the drum beat feels like a dream or even my heartbeat at times. The flower child in me digs this deeply.
“Out of Line” had me right away. The guitars have a kinda off key riff but it works completely. “Turn your back..walk on,” I think we’ve all pondered our own morality through this last year and walking away from the things that serve us no purpose. Have you done your inner work? Healed what needed healing? Have you evolved into a better kinder human being? Are more gentle in your dealings with other human beings? Are you kinder to Earth and the plants and animals or are you going to continue destructive ways. Treating one another with respect, dignity and kindness the basic human rights. It’s hard to believe we haven’t come further since the 60’s. I heard we’re in the Age of Aquarius now... So come people now... smile on your brother.... everybody get together and Love one another right now already will ya!
“With You” features some of the grooviest organ/synth on the album. The twangy chug of the guitar gives it a real organic feel. This song has a sacred feeling though, and dreamy. You are suspended frozen in a moment of time. You are exactly where you need to be at that moment with your soul mate. I’m definitely gonna play this one for my love.
You must listen to the whole Out of Line album to really appreciate and get the full effect experience of Dark Bird…. and if you really dig it... they have 8 more releases spanning back to 2006. So there is no shortage of the awesomeness they’ve created. For now, enjoy Out of Line by Dark Bird.
Let the Love Light in! Namaste!
Love Always,
Green Noreen
