archived brainwashed reviews
Area C, “Charmed Birds Against Sorcery” (Students of Decay, 2009)
Area C’s newest release borrows its theme from a passage in Claudius Aelian’s On The Characteristics of Animals (written around 200 AD); specifically one that states that doves can protect […]
Brock Van Wey, “White Clouds Drift On and On” (Echospace, 2009)
Brock Van Wey’s Echospace debut is the first album to be released under his own name, but its content will not surprise anyone familiar with his previous ambient work as […]
Nurse With Wound, “Spiral Insana” (Torso, 1986)
First released in 1986 on Torso, this enduringly bizarre collage of kaleidoscopic surrealism has now been reissued with the original cover art. More than two decades later, it still stands […]
Fenn O’Berg “Magic & Return” (Editions Mego, 2009)
Editions Mego has finally reissued the woefully out-of-print complete recorded oeuvre of this massively influential and infrequently convening laptop supergroup. Unsurprisingly, it still sounds great. Christian Fennesz, Jim O’Rourke, and […]
“Legends of Benin” (Analog Africa, 2009)
Analog Africa has unveiled another lovingly assembled and lavishly packaged overview of funky lost recordings from the birthplace of voodoo. Tireless German vinyl-monger Samy Ben Redjeb has already tackled Benin […]
“Panama! 2: Latin Sounds, Cumbia Tropical & Calypso Funk on the Isthmus 1967-77” (Soundway, 2009)
A new compilation from Soundway is always cause for excitement and this follow-up to 2006’s excellent Panama! is no exception. I have no doubt that this album will finally cement […]
James Blackshaw, “The Glass Bead Game” (Young God, 2009)
James Blackshaw has always been a staggering talented 12-string guitarist, but “The Glass Bead Game” continues his rapid evolution away from his Kottke/Basho-inspired folk roots towards a territory that is […]
Jim O’Rourke, “I’m Happy, and I’m Singing, and a 1,2,3,4” (Editions Mego, 2001)
Despite having been recorded more than a decade ago with somewhat fledgling technology, Jim O’Rourke’s 2001 groundbreaking laptop masterpiece still sounds fresh and vibrant today. That is no small accomplishment, […]