Recommended reading December 2009

I have been immersed in books as of late, and will post a few reviews as I get the time.

Mark Fisher (or K-punk to those who read FACT or New Statesman) writes an incisive analysis of the common, yet under scrutinized condition of ‘Capitalist Realism’. Characterized by a deflated resignation that there is no viable alternative to Capitalism, this bite size book highlights many of the fundamental misconceptions and hypocrisies of Neo-liberal government with a particularly interesting focus on the parallel ascendancy of mental illness in that time.

This short book calls out a number of concerns; from the emphasis on ‘individuality’ in the work place to the schizophrenic corporate relationship with familial structures (relying on secure family to absorb the anxiety of the modern workplace while simultaneously obliterating job security, culminating in a perpetual stress machine).

Lending credibility to palpable inconsistencies in the realist argument, Fisher’s approach is unencumbered by the bitterness that often colors similar ‘truth to power’ writings. Outlining a number of ways that he feels a newly vitalized and organized left can address pandemic discontent and despondence, I greatly look forward to his next writings on the subject.

Also, a word about the publisher. I strongly recommend that you visit Zero Books and have a look around. ‘Intellectual without being academic, popular without being populist’ is the tag line, and the two books that I have received so far have gone far and beyond my initially high expectations.

Review – Ocean ‘Pantheon of the Lesser’

Monolithic doom from Portland, Maine. Playing at a pace so slothful it reset my BPM counter, on account of this effort Ocean have to be considered one of the heaviest in the field.

Two tracks spread over a one hour release suggests that we have entered the realm of the contemplative, and opener ‘The Beacon’ evokes the suspenseful inertia of artists like Khanate or Corrupted in that at times it moves so slowly you fear you may collapse before the riff drops.

That is ultimately what I love about the sluggish doom genre(and this record is very much a genre piece). Elongated compositions such as these palpably dissect time and space and reflect our pavlovian relationship to riff and rhythm – offering something familiar yet at an uncanny and disorienting pace. Delayed gratification, if you will. Despite this element Ocean, like Japanese touring mates Mono, often transcend the sludge; coloring their dense clouds of gloom with an epic silver lining that offers a gulp of air in between steep plunges into the void.

Second track ‘Of the Lesser’ is purportedly an ode to misery and chemical distraction, which partly explains some of the more ominous elements of the piece. Heavily sustained moaned guitar (à la Blut Aus Nord) colors the activity, which alternates pace with enough frequency and polarity to convey both a sense of fervent longing and existential dread.

Superbly executed with fleeting highs and monotonous lows, ‘Pantheon of the Lesser’ is an exceptional effort in line with the rest of Important Record’s stellar catalogue.