Artist: Martin Bisi
Title: Sirens Of the Apocalypse
Label: Contraphonic Rec
Cat.#: CON 075
Genre: Indie Rock
Reviewed by Jim Hoey
From the first listen, the music on Sirens of the Apocalypse hits the listener in an uncompromising fashion; skewed moans seep out from the corners over a distant, relentless back-bash-beat, and boozy, cabaret lyrics are strung out over stop-start rhythms.
Martin Bisi has an early 70s spoken snarl or grumble, reminiscent of Richard Hell, Jonathan Richman (without the pursed lips) or Jim Carrol scratching his greasy head in the light, struggling to stay on-key. But there’s a staggering resiliency to these songs; just when you think they’ll wander or fall off into oblivion, something snags, a phrase sticks out, the band commits to a key change, they slow it down for a few seconds, or jump into frenetic 4/4 time and push into the next phase.
Live, Bisi is known to assemble fresh talent as backing, and mix it up with a DJ — masked lucha libre style — who sports 2 turntables and a Speak and Spell. Live, and on album, they create the ambience, and then move within the space. On Sirens, exes, old loves, and random encounters in bars dot the horizon, and the vocal delivery dips into wordy theatrical phrasings, sailor ballads, and mumbles.
Bisi is well-known around New York and beyond for his production work with the likes of Sonic Youth (on Evol!), John Zorn, the Boredoms, Herbie Hancock (on Rock It!), Helmet, Arto Lindsay, Cibo Matto and scores more, and has put out 7 official releases of his own, culminating in Sirens of the Apocalypse. With that type of underground resume, you can expect similarly confrontational, personal music here. Sirens takes chances, disregards what the kids are up to, and peaks and plummets along to the beat of a singular vision.
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Artist: Martin Bisi
Title: Son Of A Gun EP
Label: Contraphonic Rec
Cat.#: CON 081
Genre: Indie Rock
Reviewed by Jim Hoey
On this 5-song EP, Martin Bisi is joined by guests Bill Laswell, Brian Viglione (The Dresden Dolls), and Bob D’Amico (Fiery Furnaces). Similar to his earlier full-length, Sirens of the Apocalypse (reviewed above), Son Of A Gunjumps styles, and slips genres — from murky Off blues “Mile High – Formaldehyde”, to bawdy punk on “Drink Your Wine,” to the gothy, atmospheric “Rise up Cowboy,” yet exudes a rawer vibe than its predecessor. A tasty sax solo here, zany lyrics and amped-up back-beat there, all add up to a quick romp of an EP that bounces, and sometimes staggers, right along.
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