Die Bilder, Schwimmen in der See (12" EP)

The diversity of Bill Direen's work feels immediately confusing, even when a record's packaging does not add to the confusion.  Schwimmen in der See appears to be in German, complete with a German-language lyric sheet insert.  The lyrics are in fact all in English, sung with Direen's pronounced New Zealand accent.  By 1982, his group Vacuum, with notable collaborators Stephen Cogle and Peter Stapleton, had split — Vacuum's Allen Meek plays organ here, and Malcolm Grant, later of the Bats, is the drummer.  There's a bit of everything across four songs here, from lilting, sentimental vocal melodies reminiscent of Jacques Brel to flat deadpan vocals over driving rock beats, sometimes all in the same song.  Sometime the very lo-fi mixes are buried in reverb and delay, while other parts are incredibly dry.  And while the songs mostly follow conventional structures, things completely fall apart at times too, with roaring guitar solos or even total abstraction.

Sad Horse, Purple on Purple Makes Purple (12" EP)

After various singles, cassettes, and a CD-R, 2012's Purple on Purple Makes Purple is a sort of debut LP for the Portland duo Sad Horse.  Its 14 songs would fill more than an LP in duration if they reached conventional song form, but only two tracks exceed two minutes.  The closest reference at times is Mudhoney's thick merging of classic rock forms with punk dirtiness, but without the machismo and angst.  The recording also harks back 20+ years — its simplicity is tasteful and competent, not at all slick, but also not purposely lo-fi.  The guitar / drum duo configuration, with boy–girl vocals and purposeful awkwardness loosely recall Kicking Giant, but Sad Horse are louder and less twee.  They even cover Andrew Hill's "Grass Roots" and hint loosely at Sun Ra's Night of the Purple Moon with the design.

Dr. John, Babylon (side A)

Dr. John is usually associated with his overwhelming debut Gris-Gris, or the more commercial turn he took beginning with 1972's Gumbo.  In between, he released two transitional albums that are less well remembered — Babylon is the first of the two.  Babylon quickly followed Gris-Gris, with both obvious similarities and radical differences.  The big similarity between the two albums is their use of simple, repetitive structures.  There are still few references here to pop song structures, verses, or choruses — instead, parts repeat to create slow builds.  The palette, however, is a big departure, with a lighter and treblier set of sounds.  Acoustic instruments create a more spacious atmosphere, and what sounds like a harp even pokes through in places.  The female backing vocals are also used to open space, and Dr. John's vocals have been largely stripped of their darkness.  The lyrics have an interesting poetic element, including the surprisingly pointed "The Patriotic Flag-Waver".  The front cover captures the feel perfectly, with a spacious, psychedelic design full of white and bright colors.

The Fall, Perverted by Language (side A)

It's always hard to describe canonical albums like 1983's Perverted by Language, as so much has already been written about them.  Perverted by Language dates from an odd, interesting point in the Fall's evolution.  The first album with Brix, it hesitantly, and seemingly begrudgingly, begins the group's gradual evolution to a more structured and professional sound.  While songs like "Eat Y'self Fitter" and "Garden" use melodies and purposeful repetition, more than on most early Fall tracks, to draw a listener in, there's still plenty of chaos spread throughout.  Even Brix' vocals, which gradually grew into a more mellifluous element, here sound nearly as strident as Mark E. Smith's.  The studio recording quality remains raw and primitive, with a gritty use of a direct bass sound, and drums that sound a bit distant in the room.  It is surprising how much space is left in a group with a double-rhythm-section — I find it unclear whether everyone plays all of the time.  The front cover, on which a painting is surrounded by a border with text, employs a simpler layout than the cut-up chaos of preceding albums like Hex Enduction Hour and Grotesque.