Evan Parker & Barry Guy, Incision (side A)

Parker and Guy feel permanently bound in my mind from their long-running trio with Paul Lytton.  It's hard to picture a time in 1981 that predates this trio's existence.  Their collaboration on Incision is so intuitive, they feel like they've already been working regularly for a long time.  Within each of the 6 pieces the palette in use evolves, and the two instruments always seem to be drawing from the same textural range without ever overlapping or resorting to imitation.  Even Guy's arco bowing emerges sustaining, slowly-warping calls from Parker's saxophone.  While both players sometimes hint at a jazz vocabulary, the improvisations here consistently explore fluttery textures rather than a more accessible set of referents.  The sound of both instruments is fairly thin and bright—this is especially noticeable with Guy's bass lacking body.  His playing so emphasizes the subtle sounds created by his left hand that this odd sonic choice does mesh with and flatter his style.  The generic cover painting does not reflect the distinctiveness of the music contained here, but it is great to see photos of Parker and Guy at such a young age on the back cover.

Tomutonttu, Tomutonttu (side A)

Tomutonttu is a solo project of Kemialliset Ystävät leader Jan Anderzen, and 2007's Tomutonttu is his second album under this name.  Anderzen layers simplistic loops to create an atmospheric space.  Most tracks have a vague sense of pulse without any drive or rhythm, and the results often remind me of odd 80s music like the two albums from Woo or Jad Fair's Best Wishes.  Where these 80s referents tend to sound murky, Tomutonttu sounds overly bright, with a modern mastering job that emphasizes the slight harshness in the treble.  There are occasional moments of chaos, often with strange mouth and vocal noises interrupting their flow.  Some tracks also move more into a propulsive and vaguely rhythmic direction, with a bit more coherence and drive than is typical here.  The amazing packaging features bright and bold designs on both the cover and the printed inner sleeve.

Tim Hodgkinson / Ken Hyder, Shams (side A)

Hodgkinson is of course the better-known half of this duo, from his work with groups like Henry Cow, the Work, and Konk Pak.  He's joined on 1986's Shams by the less-known Scottish percussionist Ken Hyder.  Hodgkinson works here in two areas typical of his playing—some parts feature clusters of tonally close notes on the clarinet, played in rapid succession.  Other sections find him exploring textures that intersect closely with Hyder's percussion palette.  Hyder uses a fairly conventional set of sounds from his drums, but his playing explores space with little attention to rhythm or meter.  The trashy and primitive live recording can make his kit sound strange at times on the record—it seems to color Hodgkinson's sounds less, perhaps because of the wide dynamics of a drum kit.  The cover image is tasteful and appropriate but not particularly special.

Wipers, Over the Edge (side A)

1983's Over the Edge is as powerful as its reputation would suggest.  Some of the subtle diversity is more surprising.  Some songs, like the openers "Over the Edge" and "Doom Town" rely purely on power.  The guitars and vocals are harsh, bright and in-your-face, and the band plays with abandon.  By the end of side A, "Romeo" has softened, just a bit—the less-menacing vocals recall Lou Reed's narrative style, the guitars sound a bit less harsh, and the pace has even dropped slightly.  No matter the style, the Wipers' delivery is impressively consistent, and the impact never drops.  The sound's harshness is far more listenable than the digital harshness of so many of today's lo-fi recordings.  The cover is simple and iconic, with the surprising color choice of pink drawing attention and leaping out.

Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, Admonishing the Bishops (10" EP)

1993's Admonishing the Bishops is the Thinking Fellers most consistently extroverted rock release.  Where the group often includes weird asides and sound collages between songs, this 10" features only four somewhat-conventional songs.  The songs still capture much of the Fellers' weirdness, with deadpan vocals, strangely-processed guitars, and many structural surprises in what first appear to be pop songs.  While the band often grew frustrated with the challenging of capturing their incredibly dynamic arrangements on record, the guitars here nicely leap out of the mix as the songs build.  And the recordings are an interesting balance of studio clarity with some primitive sounds, especially in the vocals.  The 10" format provides a perfect length to encapsulate one side of the group's multi-faceted personality and approach.

The Fall, Live at the Witch Trials (side A)

I find it impressive that with the Fall's 1979 debut Live at the Witch Trials, the group had already established so much of its lasting identity.  While Marc Riley only played bass on the first album before moving to guitar and then leaving the group, his pulsing, repetitive basslines foreshadowed those of his successors.  Smith's dead-pan, semi-narrative vocal style has changed little in the 30+ years since the group's debut.  Drummer Karl Burns also left after Witch Trials, but returned in 1982 to double drum on the Fall's most beloved albums, and his drumming here also provides an obvious foundation for the group's future style.  Only Martin Bramah's scratchy, no wave-y guitar style would not last—future albums feature more tonal and less textural playing.  While Fall albums always sound purposely lo-fi, weird, and primitive, the mixes of Live at the Witch Trials rank among their worst, with drums especially sounding compressed and lifeless.  The red packaging of my domestic copy looks worse than the UK original, and, while I like "Various Times", I also miss having "Mother-Sister!".

Ethiopian, Everything Crash (side A)

Leonard Dillon was half of the vocal reggae duo Ethiopians.  5 years after Steven Taylor's death, he made his first solo record as Ethiopian, 1980's Everything Crash, working with Coxsone Dodd from Studio One.  I'm not so familiar with Ethiopians, but their music from what I have heard seems to have been a bit higher energy.  The tempos on Everything Crash are a bit slower, and the feel of the album is darker.  Dillon's amazing singing shines in this setting, with a series of beautiful vocal takes.  Many songs are melodic and memorable, including at least one recut of Ethiopians' "Everything Crash".  The opener "When Will be the End" also particularly stands out.  The sound of the record is present with punchy dub bass, but the midrange feels a bit weak and does not flatter Dillon's beautiful voice.  The stylized cover design stretches the Studio One style into a slightly darker terrain.