Grouper

[fujee]

Photo of her set up for all you gear nerds

[Logan71]

So I recently upgraded /all/ of my stereo equipment to quite the high fidelity setup. I just spun the Mirrorring vinyl and... shit, man. The way the guitar strings pluck and bounce around the room is simply the most dizzying effect I've ever heard. I feel like I'm getting high off of it.

I really hope Jesy Fortino releases some more of her own music.

'Life on Earth' is such a wonderful record.

[fujee]

http://thequietus.com/articles/16001-gr ... lbum-ruins

[cmx]

Great news!

[Guido]

Listen to snippets here http://www.amazon.com/Ruins-Grouper/dp/B00MQJX9E2

[fujee]

Love that album artwork. Sounding great too!

[Guido]

Oh Liz <3

[fujee]

That sleeve was partially done when I saw her a few months ago. She looks great!

[fujee]

Thoughts then? Very stripped back Grouper.. but shows her brilliant ability for melody and mood.

[The Telepathic Kid]

I finally got to listen to Ruins last night on a walk, and it was nice for the first few tracks (though I really enjoyed Clearing), but when it hit Holding and then melted away into Made of Air, that kind of hit me in a "Oh... this is wonderful" way.

It's all these piano tracks and then there's the standard Grouper ambience, but made of piano textures instead of guitars. It's like the last third of the record is a ghost of the previous two thirds. It's like she wants to be intimate with her audience, but still wants to keep herself at a distance.

Made of Air is her way of distancing herself, because it's such a lengthy track that by the time it finishes maybe we'll have forgotten that Ruins is such a stripped back record.

[Guido]

Sadly I cannot really enjoy this one.

[fujee]

Interesting idea TTK.

Guido - how come?

[Amo Bishop Roden]

I know I'm a little late to the party here, but I've been on hiatus from buying new music for a while.

Picked up ruins last night not knowing anything about it. I was pleased to hear Liz doing something a little more standard and melodic. (Emphasis on "a little more"!)

Of course the standard Grouper is still in there too. Overall I love it. Fresh and good.

[Crystalspike]

I saw one of her music videos a couple year ago and it creeped me the fuck out. The song was beautiful but the video was really terrifying in a really eerie and minimal way. I never went near her after that after recovering from the nightmares, but i might try her out again.

[FortonServices]

I love Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill and The Man Who Died In His Boat. I first got into them during a period of really bad insomnia/anxiety, where I was only able to sleep for a couple of hours a night. Listening to these albums was pretty much the only way I could get anything resembling sleep.

They sound like you're lying in a bath, a huge old Victorian bath, doped up on sleeping pills. With just one bare lightbulb.

The new album is a bit clearer, a bit less bath-y. You're out of the bath now, and there's a woman in the next room singing and playing the piano.

[vballs]

Just checking this 'Dragging a Dead Dear Up A Hill' album out, 2nd song in, BLOODY LOVELY. I'm buying the shit out of this!

[fujee]

Good shout man, you won't be disappointed, Liz makes some lovely music. Maybe check out the two AIA albums next, especially Alien Observer.

[The Telepathic Kid]

you split em up? I consider them two sides of the same coin, always listen to them together as a whole.

Alien Observer first then Dream Loss

[fujee]

Yeah I guess you're right, I've always just thought of them as separate albums, because they came as separate physical releases with different album artwork too. I love the song Alien Observer, it may be my favourite Grouper song.

[__38__38]

Grouper performing at St. John's church end of the month



....though I think it's sold out now (I bought my ticket a nano-second after the announcement).