Rustic Overtones |
• Our old friends at TEA FIRST RECORDS have assembled a few honeypots for us this summer. The first is a trio of long-playing cassettes of radical dub interpretations from electronic artist ARTIE APPLESEED. The magisterially packaged Applesauce Trilogy unfurls nearly three hours of gorgeously deconstructed dub and IDM forms, beats bobbing like buoys in a sea of compressed melodies and electronic skronk. Weird, wild, and mindful of the soul. AA's got his hands in the second and third releases, too (he's the label impresario, after all). One's the second installment of a series titled Dracula Songs, a chilling and delicate sojourn with post-noise plucker b, and the third's a split with BLIND PELICAN, the sparse and lyrical post-rock work of musician Douglas W. Milliken. For the surfeit of reggae-rooted bands in the area, it's astounding to note that Appleseed's forays into the outer realms of dub are the only of their kind to hit tape. Visit teafirstrecords.blogspot.com, where the label's radio station might be a good intro.
• The longstanding local alt-rock band RUSTIC OVERTONES play Deering Oaks Park this Saturday in a benefit supporting the Portland branch of the National Association of Triads, a partnership of law enforcement and senior citizens groups formed in 1988 that aims to reduce the occasion and fear of crime within the senior citizen community. So yes, in a sense, Rustic's doing a benefit show for the cops, but it's a bit more complicated than that. The band play with ERIC BETTENCOURT and VELOUROSAURUS for a $10 suggested donation rate.
• The eclectic veterans of DREADNAUGHT have accepted an invitation to play this year's ProgDay Festival in Chapel Hill. The Portsmouth instrumental trio have amassed a real culture of weirdness in their 15-year existence. While we haven't heard any recordings from them since 2007's High Heat and Chin Music, a platter of improvisational savvy and genre-swap prowess, they remain unrelenting performers and devoted contributors to the Seacoast music scene, performing as the house band for New Hampshire Public Radio's "Writers on a New England Stage" series and operating an internationally respected label of compositions (bassist Bob Lord's PARMA RECORDINGS). ProgDay, which also features an appearance by old Boston post-avant group (and Mission of Burma side project) Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, goes down September 1 and 2. More info at progday.net.
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New England Music News
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, Eric Bettencourt, Eric Bettencourt, RUSTIC OVERTONES, RUSTIC OVERTONES, Parma Recordings, Dreadnaught, Dreadnaught, Artie Appleseed, Artie Appleseed, Velourosaurus, Less 
