I’ve been off from work for a few days because of the blizzard, so now seems like a decent opportunity to let you know that I am still alive. I still can’t see the pavement on my street though. Below is a small update and hopefully I’ll check back soon with more.

Kill Rock Stars are taking pre-orders for the new Quasi album, American Gong (in stores 2/23/10). This is their first album since 2006’s When The Going Gets Dark and I am very impressed. I am a big Sam Coomes fan and have always felt that Quasi are sadly underrated. If you pre-order the album, you will receive a live DVD of the band performing an entire set of Who covers. Don’t forget to purchase the Repulsion EP off of iTunes. It was released last month and contains two non-album tracks. Fans in D.C. can catch Quasi at the Black Cat on April 24th.

I first told you about Bell Gardens in July 2008. This is the project that features Stars Of The Lid’s Brian McBride. It looks like they are finally ready to reveal their debut in the form of a six-track EP titled Hangups Need Company. It will be released on April 6th in vinyl and digital formats. If the Beach Boys-esque samples are any indication, this is going to be really, really good. They will make their live debut on March 26th at Spaceland in Los Angeles.

• Artist: Jawbox
• Album: For Your Own Special Sweetheart
• Label: Atlantic (Original), DeSoto (Re-issue)
• Release: 1994, 2009
• Links: DeSoto, Dischord

It is easy to criticize artists for signing to major labels until you realized how hard it is to be in a good or even successful band. Most passionate fans of independent music are guilty of this, including myself. I’m pretty sure I would give in to temptation if someone approached me with a large sum of money and the goal of helping me live out my dreams. Granted, the 90’s are full of horror stories about bands that were eaten alive when they signed to a major and then only fed the beast when they did indeed salt themselves artistically. Jawbox, one of the finest bands to ever come out of Washington D.C., are a peculiar case and an exception. They took the expected amount of flack when they, along with Shudder To Think, became the first bands from the beloved Dischord label to sign to a major. The amazing thing is that instead of degrading themselves, Jawbox grew as songwriters and put out their best music when they signed to Atlantic Records.

Jawbox’s major debut and third album overall, For Your Own Special Sweetheart, was released in 1994. Looking back, it shouldn’t have been a huge surprise that it wasn’t a crossover hit. In the wake of grunge, I would have no idea how to market a post-punk band with obtuse lyrics to a mainstream audience and my guess is that Atlantic didn’t have a clue either. The bizarre music video for “Savory” says it all. At least Atlantic tried harder than Geffen did for Jawbreaker, Jawbox’s west coast brethren. They even managed to get “Cruel Swing” played in an episode of My So-Called Life for about four seconds. Many parallels can be drawn between that program and the 90’s lost bands. Sweetheart has been out of print for years, but DeSoto, the label operated by bassist Kim Coletta and guitarist Bill Barbot, made it available on iTunes in 2006. In a move to take things full circle, Dischord stepped in to bring the album back in physical form with a fresh re-master from Shellac’s Bob Weston.

Re-mastering the album was a great move because it sounds better than ever and nothing has been sacrificed from what I can tell. Sweetheart was the first album that featured Zach Barocas on drums and his presence is huge on this re-issue. The same can be said for Coletta’s bass. There are so many moments on this record where everything comes together perfectly and Barocas and Coletta are a big part of that. They are the ideal compliment to the twin attack of Bill Barbot and the infamous J. Robbins. Good things happen when Barbot and Robbins play together. This was proved again when the duo re-teamed for Burning Airlines after Jawbox broke up. I can’t play a guitar to save my life, but even I know that the interplay on Sweetheart between Barbot and Robbins is a very special thing.

Hearing this re-issue has only enhanced my appreciation for Jawbox.  There is no denying that “Savory” is bigger than life and contains one of the best riffs of the previous decade. The scary thing is that songs such as “Breathe” and “LS/MFT” come close to countering it. I rarely have an idea as to what the underrated J. Robbins is singing about on Sweetheart, but his voice never sounded as powerful as it does here. It still gives me chills when he proclaims that “One hand will wash the other” on “Savory.” All of this admiration brings me to one conclusion: Jawbox and Fugazi are the kings of the D.C. scene and no one has come close to bettering them. My only hope is that DeSoto and Dischord have similar plans to re-issue the group’s self-titled swan song that followed two years later.

Jawbox will perform “Savory” on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon tomorrow, December 8th. No other reunion appearances are planned, but I’m sure that the 9:30 Club would welcome them with open arms.

• Artist: Nirvana
• Album: Bleach
• Label: Sub Pop
• Release: 1989, 2009

For nearly two decades, Nirvana has been the go-to angst band for alienated teens all over the world. For me, their music is a lot more effective now that I am more than six years removed from high school. It is a lot easier to appreciate their music when you aren’t trapped in hallways and classrooms filled with stoners that know every Nirvana song on their guitar by heart. I was angry too, but I’ve never really gone through a period where I was infatuated with Nirvana. The idol worship was a little overwhelming for me, but it is a testament to the group’s influence that they are still a major fixture in Washington D.C. suburbs that would make Kurt Cobain cringe for being so painfully dull.

This summer marked the 20th anniversary of Bleach and Sub Pop are celebrating by re-issuing the overlooked debut with a fresh re-master by album producer Jack Endino. The re-issue also comes with a live set from 1990 and a booklet containing rare photos of the pre-Dave Grohl incarnation of the band. It is appropriate that the booklet contains absolutely no writing with the exception of the credits. So much has been written about Nirvana that it almost feels pointless to add to the pile. If you’re skipping over this review, I understand. However, I believe that Bleach is worth critiquing because it is an album that exists deep in the shadows of the two albums that would follow it.

Krist Novoselic doesn’t get a lot of credit for his role in Nirvana, but he and Cobain simply click musically on Bleach. Listening to the duo of “School” and “Love Buzz” gets this point across. Badass is the only word that comes to mind when listening to Cobain’s violent riff on “School.” Dave Grohl and Cobain’s musical growth would make Nirvana a tighter, better band, but drummer Chad Channing serves his purpose on Bleach. Unsurprisingly, Cobain is the star of the album and it is amazing how confident he sounds. Most debut records would kill for a song as good as “About A Girl.” Few singers have ever sounded so comfortable in voicing their own straight-up, unhinged misery. That’s a compliment.

Messy albums like Bleach aren’t supposed to be perfect, which is kind of the point. It will never be spoken in the same breath as Nevermind or In Utero, but it still impresses. It is nice to be able to listen to a Nirvana record that doesn’t have so much legend and noise floating in the background. Bleach is great because it came before the storm. The notion sounds ridiculous at first, but you can sit back and pretend this is just another up-and-coming rock band making an album at the end of a decade that featured Hüsker Dü, The Pixies, R.E.M., The Replacements, Sonic Youth, and so many other great acts. Bleach was made during the most fruitful and exciting time underground rock has ever seen. Kurt Cobain didn’t want to be part of any scene, but if he saw the bands I just name-checked and not a genre title, I’d like to believe he’d be honored to be part of that club.

The deluxe edition of Bleach hits stores tomorrow, November 3rd.

Since 2001, Vancouver’s Scott Morgan has released four outstanding full lengths of ambient music under the alias of Loscil. His latest release is Strathcona Variations, a digital EP for Ghostly International. In early 2010, Kranky will release a new LP from Loscil titled Endless Falls. Morgan also works as a sound director in the video game industry. He was a vital member of the sound team for Prototype, a game that was released this summer by Activision and sold more copies than any other game in North America during the month of June. Morgan was so nice to sit down and answer some questions regarding the new EP, the upcoming full length, his work with Destroyer’s Dan Bejar and more.

Hugh Miller: Tell me more about the background of the three tracks that compose Strathcona Variations.

Scott Morgan: At work, I have a view from my office of the neighborhood of Strathcona (in Vancouver). It is pretty much the view on the cover of the EP (though I took that photo from the roof of our building). It’s a pretty inspiring view of the buildings and the mountains in the background, but its also led me to think about Strathcona now and then. In essence, the EP is a series of “snapshots” of Strathcona; very photo-inspired in a way.  The main track, “Strathcona,” is a general “musical impression” of this place – a kind of soundtrack to it. The Union of “Union Dusk” is a street name as is the Princess in “Midnight on Princess.”

Both of these “variations” are about seeing the same place from a different perspective which is exactly what the music is about. “Union Dusk” and “Midnight on Princess” are both variations of the main themes in Strathcona. One with a slightly “lighter” impression and the other with a considerably darker one – which is exactly how I see Strathcona – a place with light and dark sides.

HM: Seeing as the EP is a digital-only release, what are your feelings on digital distribution?

SM: I’m not really sure I’ve formed a strong opinion about it. This isn’t the first digital release I’ve worked on – Stases was the other, but it was free. I miss the physical artwork, I must admit. I think a digital release can be a little more “fleeting” as well and lack the perceived longevity of a physical release. It’s easy to get lost in the sea of digital music out there.

HM: You contributed “Loscil’s Rubies” to the vinyl pressing of Destroyer’s Rubies and the Loscil/Destroyer friendship has continued since then. How did you first meet Dan Bejar and what is it like working with him?

SM: A long time ago, a band I was playing in played on a bill with Dan’s old band True Love Forever. This is going back to the early 90’s. At the time, I lived in a house with a couple good friends of mine and we were in need of a roommate. Dan needed a place so he moved in. Dan and I have a pretty long history. He recorded his first Destroyer record on my 4-track and I played in the first live incarnation of Destroyer (this would have been around ‘95). I also played drums (and occasionally sax) on a number of Destroyer records after that – Rubies being the last one.

Dan had asked me before to do Loscil remixes and one of them actually made it onto a Destroyer record called Thief. A longer version of this remix also landed on a Vancouver compilation called Vancouver Special. I have always been asking Dan to play on a Loscil record and recently bugged him to death about doing some spoken word on my next Loscil full length which he has done. Ronen Givony, who runs Wordless Music in New York, asked Dan and I if we would like to come out together for a show and we decided to turn this into a full-on collaborative set. Working with Dan is easy and fun.  He is an old friend who I respect a lot and enjoy making music with.

HM: Is the Loscil/Destroyer collaboration that you mentioned on your blog earlier this month the same material that you performed at the Wordless Music Series in September or something different?

SM: It’s the same. The blog was a bit of a documentation of the rehearsals. The rehearsals were so much fun and sounded so good and unique to me I decided to record some of it.

HM: What is the length of the collaboration and are there any plans to release it?

SM: There are a couple of Dan’s songs that I rearranged in a Loscil style. They are about five minutes each. Dan also played guitar on a couple of my old tracks which are six to seven minutes each. I’m hoping we get the chance to record this stuff for real and do a little EP together. As of yet, there are no concrete plans.

HM: What is the status of Endless Falls, the next Loscil full length?

SM: It is done. The cover is now done too. There will be vinyl of it as well, which I’m excited about. Kranky is talking early 2010 release – probably late January or early February, but we don’t have a specific date yet.

HM: How has your process in creating the new album differed from the construction of previous Loscil efforts?

SM: On the computer side, not too different at all. I used the same set of max/msp patches I’ve used (and build on) for each of the last few releases. There is a slight difference with some of the live instruments in the sense that I actually composed some of the string parts in the title track. Some of the other tracks still have players improvising a bit. The last difference of course is Dan Bejar’s voice contribution on the final track. It is a spoken word thing which makes us both a little nervous, but I’ve grown really fond of.

HM: How would you contrast the new album’s sound with Strathcona Variations?

SM: Strathcona is pretty deep and smooth and rich. Endless Falls has a bit of this, but also has a little more glitchy, rhythmic stuff. None of it ventures outside of the realm I’ve created for the Loscil project, but it’s perhaps a little more varied than Strathcona, which is very focused and condensed.

HM: I am curious to learn more about your work in the video game industry.

SM: I don’t actually write music for games, I’m a sound director, which means I work with composers, actors and sound designers to supervise and direct the audio and keep it all together. I do a lot of sound design myself and hook a lot of the sounds up in the game but rarely, if ever, do I write music. I’m happy to keep that to myself.

HM: How do you gain an idea of the mood that the producers are aiming to achieve?

SM: A game is a long process. The last game I worked on took 3 years to finish.  In audio, we are constantly working on it, adjusting sounds, music, dialogue, etc. to try to get all of the thousands of pieces to work together.  That being said, we do spend a considerably amount of time in pre-production determining what the “sound” of the game will be. Is it dark, heroic, mysterious, aggressive, etc. Having this designed first is imperative as it gives you a guide for the remainder of the project and gives all members of the team something to focus on.

HM: Detail any recent or upcoming projects that you have contributed to in the gaming realm.

SM: I was the sound director of the recent Activision game called Prototype. Actually, the very first sound you hear in the game is a very “Loscil-like” drone which I added for effect. I was in charge of the music direction, working with the composers and honing in on the style as well as implementing the ambient sound system (I have an online article about this on Gamasutra). I worked with all the actors on the dialogue and with our sound designer on the sound effects.  I worked on pretty much every aspect of the audio in that game – that is my job after all.

Strathcona Variations is available digitally now from Ghostly, Amazon, and iTunes. Prototype is in stores for the XBOX 360, Playstation 3, and PC. Look for Endless Falls in early 2010 on Kranky.

I didn’t see this one coming. According to Billboard, Jawbox will perform on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on December 8th to promote the Dischord/DeSoto reissue of 1994’s For Your Own Special Sweetheart (in stores November 23rd). No reunion shows have been announced, but I’ll cross my fingers for a surprise show at the 9:30 Club.

Yesterday kicked off a big month for new releases. Built To Spill released their 7th album, There Is No Enemy, but the week is arguably highlighted by The Life Of The World To Come by The Mountain Goats, who made their television debut last night on The Colbert Report. Other releases included Sunset/Sunrise, the sophomore effort from The Dutchess And The Duke. John Vanderslice dropped a vinyl single on Dead Oceans for “Too Much Time” that includes an unreleased song titled “Moon Rocks.” It is available digitally as well. Speaking of digital releases, Ghostly International released Strathcona Variations, a new EP from Loscil.

The Mezzotint Label relaunched their web site to celebrate the recent release of Ciao My Shining Star, the new Mark Mulcahy tribute/benefit album that features Thom Yorke, The National, Michael Stipe, and many others. Please purchase this album so that Mulcahy can continue making music!

Retribution Gospel Choir, the alter ego of Low’s Alan Sparhawk, have signed with Sub Pop and will release their new album 2 on January 26th. RGC’s first album was released by Caldo Verde in 2008.

Jawbox photo by Katherine Davis.