Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Magic Lantern, Sun Araw, Pocahaunted, Explode Into Colors

Magic Lantern

Magic Lantern, Platoon

So Much Fun

The vast majority of Not Not Fun Records’ 200-odd releases have come on vinyl and cassette—not exactly the quickest way to turn modern artists into household names. But then, widespread acceptance hardly seems like a goal for the LA-based label’s stable of outre experimentalists, groups with weird names (Secret Abuse, Robedoor, Goliath Bird Eater) and even weirder definitions of “music.”

I’ve been convinced for a while, however, that some of the stuff on Not Not Fun, while undeniably ill-suited for mainstream consumption, deserves a push beyond the noisy underground’s core base. Nice then, to see NNF’s recent move to digitize a portion of its catalog for mp3 purchasing, and to find a trio of the label’s newest offerings released on—gasp—compact disc. I celebrated by ordering up all three as fast as I could type paypal.com. Some thoughts on each:

Magic Lantern, Platoon: OC Weekly’s 2008 Best Live Band isn’t much of a “band” anymore, with its members’ various side projects taking precedence since the releases of 2007 cassette At the Mountains of Madness and 2008 LP High Beams. Still, the quintet found time to record this five-song slab sometime last year, and the psych-rock-loving world should be thankful. Opening track “Dark Cicadas” sounds like a loose Band of Gypsys jam session, had Jethro Tull flautist Ian Anderson dropped in to guest, and the sonic exploration grows ever more riveting from there, finishing with the slow blues buildup of standout “Friendship.” Bonus: The CD includes both cuts from the simultaneously released Showstopper 7-inch, another signal NNF is looking to make its prime material more widely available.

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Sun Araw, On Patrol

Sun Araw, On Patrol: Much as I’d like to see and hear more from Magic Lantern, you won’t find me complaining about the band’s downtime opening up opportunities for guitarist Cameron Stallones to serenade us with madness from the mind of his alter ego. Named in tribute to free-jazz hero Sun Ra, Sun Araw shares a psychedelic seeker’s mentality with the Man From Saturn, even if you won’t find skronking horns or blurred organ passages here. I got my first taste on 2008’s The Phynx and ’09’s Heavy Deeds, but strong as those records are, On Patrol is where it’s really at—from the crawling drone of “Ma Holo” through early-Floyd trip “Conga Mind” to 17-minute developing freakout “Holodeck Blues.” Look for this one toward the top of my 2010 year-ender.

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Pocahaunted, Make It Real

Pocahaunted, Make It Real: When Bethany Cosentino left Pocahaunted last year to create low-fi pop outfit Best Coast, most assumed her abandoned avant-folk duo had howled its last howl. Not so. Make It Real relaunches the LA band as a five-piece, led by holdover Amanda Brown and her guitar-playing husband. Its seven tracks are far more song-oriented than past Poca efforts, which should excite some fans and dismay others. After tracking down and sifting through some 13 hours of the old group’s work in recent years, I personally find the change refreshing, though I’d say the new Pocahaunted is still groping for a consistently interesting sonic palate.

To order any Not Not Fun releases, visit notnotfun.com/now.html. To drool over limited-release old shit you can’t get anymore, check out notnotfun.com/past.html.

Colorful exit

I’ve gotten into a lot of my favorite bands after they broke up, but I don’t remember ever flipping out over a band as it split apart. First time for everything. Portland all-girl trio Explode Into Colors called it quits after a hometown gig on June 5 (something about its singer pursuing other interests), not long after I scored a copy of Quilts, a new disc collecting the group’s few singles and B-sides. Sad to think I’ll never witness this music—a kind of modern take on the tribal funk of ESG—in person. But don’t let that stop you from ordering or downloading whatever you can find from these gals. And if you need some visuals while you listen, a four-minute stopover on YouTube should show you all you need to know about a band whose run was way too short-lived.

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