Twitch and Gloam: Dark Sounds from the Pacific Northwest – Various Artists
Limited edition, hand-numbered 180gm clear vinyl, CD, and digital download.
Preview video:
“…the perfect atmospheric collection of brooding, screeching, experimental and otherwise finely/obliquely crafted heavy burners of tracks ever created in the PNW.” – KEXP
“As a boy growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Lynch maintained an idyllic balance– with a twist. Middle America was what it appeared to be. But then on the cherry tree would be this pitch oozing out, some of it black, some of it yellow, and there will millions and millions of read ants racing all over the sticky pitch, all over the tree. So you see, there’s this beautiful world and you just look a little closer and it’s all red ants.” –on David Lynch, “Beautiful Dark” by Greg Olson.
What is it?
Def. Verb + Noun:
A spectre is haunting the Pacific Northwest — the spectre of twitch and gloam. All the powers of old America have entered into an unholy alliance to celebrate this spectre: Celine + D’Argento, Throbbing Gristle + Peter Sotos, French Radicals + German police-spies.
All these small cluster-fucks of mayhem-makers are asking here in Seattle + Portland + Vancouver, B.C. is: Where is the party? Have we only been decried as occult, arcane, esoteric by opponents in Power? Your god save our reactionary adversaries.
Two things result from this fact:
I. Twitch & Gloam is already acknowledged by all post-European powers to be itself a power.
II. It is high time that enlightened musicians should openly, in the face of the whole world, perform and produce their views, their aims, their tendencies, and meet this nursery tale of the spectre of the collective with a sound manifesto of Gloam itself.
Track listing:
Vice Device – Solvent
Vice Device is Bobby Kaliber + Andrea K, Devin Welch. “Portland industrial revivalists Vice Device’s taut, dark synth tunes” —KEXP; “jittery, juddery, shuddery synth pop with stabbing synths, grumbling bass, and yelped vocals covered in smears of reverb.” —Portland Mercury.
Recorded 2012 in Bartertown, OR.
More info: soundcloud.com/vicedevicemusic
Light House – Watchword
Light House is Dawn Sharp + Chris Relyea + Brooks Blackhawk. “another great new band from Portland … and their blend of shoegaze sounds with dark synth sounds is right up our alley.” —No Conclusion
Recorded 2012 at Red Lantern studios, Portland, OR.
More info: soundcloud.com/light-house
Mode Moderne – Only Sleep
Mode Moderne is Phillip + Felix + Clint + Rebecca + Sean. “one of Canada’s hottest new bands. … yes, they sing about electrocutions and tea.” —Vancouver Observer
Recorded 2012 at Little Red Sounds on the Astral Plain.
More info: modemoderne.bandcamp.com
Koban – Feed The Dogs
Koban is Samuel Buss + Brittany Westgarth.
“complex but hypnotic, a balance of mood and skill with the nerve to push some buttons.” —Beatroute
Recorded 2012 in Vancouver, B.C.
More info: koban.bandcamp.com
Grey Gardens – Baby
Grey Gardens is Clint Lofkrantz + Luna Landerwyck. “pop dark dream pop garage gothic pop dark wave punk noise from Vancouver, B.C.”
Recorded 2012 in Vancouver, B.C.
More info: https://soundcloud.com/lofkrantz
//ZOO – Twisted Fingers
//ZOO is Ashlee Luk (Vancouver, B.C.). “//ZOO is fuck music.”
Recorded 2012 in Vancouver, B.C.
More info: soundcloud.com/zooxzoo
Nightmare Fortress – Faces In the Dark
Nightmare Fortress is Alicia Amiri + Colin Roper + Blair Field + Cassidy Gonzales. Seattle, WA.
“a sultry and noir-ish atmosphere …very excellent … mind-altering, gothic powers.” —City Arts Magazine
Recorded in 2012 in Seattle, WA.
More info: soundcloud.com/nightmarefortress
Baby Guns- BETABlocker
Baby Guns is Erin Shannon + Neil Giardino. “pure mood healing easy listening” … “sweeping graveyard rock” —The Seattle Times
Recorded in 2012 in Seattle, WA.
More info: babyguns.blogspot.com
Haunted Horses – The Void
Haunted Horses is Colin Dawson + Myke Pelly. “spooky and brutal … (Seattle’s) Power Glower Duo. … careen into wild, animalistic spasms. … a supremely haunting mix of inchoately shouted lyrics and high-pitched ghost moans” —The Stranger
Recorded in 2012 in Seattle, WA.
More info: https://www.spookyponies.com/
Perpetual Ritual – Certain Time of Night
Perpetual Ritual is Mitchell Saulsberry with revolving accompaniment of friends (Seattle). “experiments with drawing out textures and drone-like rhythms” —Hollow Earth Radio
Recorded 2011 in Seattle, WA.
More info: perpetualritual.blogspot.com
Grave Babies – Carve Out Your Tongue
Grave Babies is K/E\I/T\H + D/A\N/N\Y + T/Y\L/E\R. Seattle. “blown out post-punk that’s generous with fuzz and bashing percussion” —Pitchfork
Recorded 2012 in Seattle, WA.
More info: https://www.hardlyart.com/collections/grave-babies
Music For Evenings – Afraid of Ghosts (Not Afraid to Die)
Music For Evenings is Phillip Intile. “night drifting…”
Recorded 2011 in Vancouver, B.C.
More info: https://dreamcars.bandcamp.com/
Produced by David W. Halsell and Brad Muller
Mastered by Marcell Marias
Album Artwork:
Design by David W. Halsell
Photography by Michele Alberts
* Due to contractual obligations Light House’s “Watchword” is not included in the digital download, but it is available here:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/in-their-image-ep/id595100416
3 thoughts on “Twitch and Gloam: Dark Sounds from the Pacific Northwest”
Comments are closed.