New Releases: Guiguisuisui, thruoutin, Noise Arcade, Bian Yuan

While the lot of you were off prancing about last week, more than a few artists were off busy mastering albums, touring aboard, setting up shows and just plain ol’ bein ‘too cool’ for lame ol’ festival season. Well, lucky for us, we’ve got a first look at the fruits of those endeavors, with the latest from one man trash bluesmen Guiguisuisui, including a spilt with soft-spoken pipa-wielding electronica artist thruoutin, as well as the latest pair of releases from drone-matic improv-sensationalist Noise Arcade, as well as the latest offering from ex-Joyside frontman Bian Yuan. Check it.

A skateboard and a pipa go to Taiwan. Not quite at the level of Fable Goes West, but there’s something endearing about local DIY artists thruoutin and Guiguisuisui covering each other songs and then taking the concept on the road to Taiwan for a quickie tour. Awaiting audiences got a taste of what was to come in the form of a spilt EP entitled Tag Team Taiwan, with the proceeds going toward their travel expenses. Neato! The four songs really highlight the lyrical differences whilst offering a different, dare I say, even radical interpretation of said lyrics. Give it a listen here.

And if that wasn’t enough Tom Waitsy, Gameboy thumping, skateboard slinging, punk blues, Guiguisuisui has released his first vinyl on Hong Kong based Metal Postcard Records. Entitled Black Books, it’s a four-song EP that finds the madman taking a trip to the Wild West, albeit several whiskeys too deep or one peyote detour too many. It’s loony, depraved, raving, and just lots of fun – probably the most refined the artist has sound on record thus far, though that’s not saying much. The bandcamp page likens him to the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, and according to my go-to quote-man it\’s \’Nick Cave and the Misfits caught in capacitor of a circuit board\’. Enough already – give it a spin and purchase it over here. Catch GGSS next Saturday, May 17^th at XP.

Noise Arcade continues expanding (or perhaps exploring) his universe of ambient synthesizers, drone cascades, and hard hitting beats to the point wehere it could go in any direction and I wouldn’t be surprised. Yeah, season one and two might have been a bit shaky but now I’m in it for the long run – shit just keeps getting better. First up we have the lines were already blurred, based on the ill-fated last night of Noise Arcade, thruoutin, and myself in Shanghai where the night went onnn a lot longer than expected – listen to that here. On top of that, we have Noise Arcade first release with Metal Postcards Records entitled Incidents Which Occur. Grab that here. Good to see the virus spreading down south – better yet, one can catch Noise Arcade team up with Muted Rainbow this Saturday at XP.

Last, we got the latest solo effort from ex-Joyside frontman Bian Yuan, who has traded in the drunken antics of the previous punk rock outfit for something much softer on the ears. Late last year, we got a glimpse into the man’s lyrical side with Lone, which found the artist evoking the slow moving saloon ballads of Leonard Cohen. That, I could swallow a whole lot easier than this: Perishable. This collection of ballads is a bit too syrupy for me. The foundation is there, but the execution leaves much to be desired – needs more angst, more oomph – he’s trying to hard to impress instead of laying it all bare. It plays it too safe, which is saying a lot for someone who used to play in Joyside. Give it a listen here and buy it over at Indie Music Store.