#mark cisneros

[nofatclips]

Green Iris by Algiers (as a trio) live on New Sounds

[spilladabalia]

Des Demonas - The Duke Ellington Bridge

[dustedmagazine]

Hammered Hulls — Careening (Dischord)

Careening by Hammered Hulls

Hammered Hulls raises the ghosts of 1990s DC post-punk with taut explosions of guitar, the merciless propulsion of picked bass, fire storms of percussion and an angsty poetic yowl. A super group of sorts, the band brings together lifelong punks Alex Mackaye (of Untouchables, the Faith, Ignition, the Warmers, and yes, Ian’s little brother), Mary Timony from Helium and Wild Flag on bass, Mark Cisneros (Chain and the Gang, Des Demonas and others) and Chris Wilson on drums. The band released a three-song self-titled EP in 2019, which shares one song, “Written Words,” with this album. The four of them worked on this album, off and on, during the pandemic, but there’s little evidence of COVID-related lassitude. Their onslaught here is tight, disciplined, and ferocious, the aggression stuffed down into a narrow-gauge barrel for targeted destruction.

The album starts with “Boilermaker’s Notch,” all thrashing precision, the guitar mostly tamped to a tense grey rumble, but allowed to ring in bright, rainbow-colored power chords at the end of phrases. Wilson’s drumming is disruptive. He executes frantic, off-balance fills, then settles into a double-timed gallop. And MacKaye shouts short, koan-like couplets into a gaping void. “It’s ringing in my ear,” he finishes, and yeah, ours too, in the best possible way.

Hammered Hulls engages with issues in an oblique but feral way. “Rights and Reproduction” lurches through staccato thickets of guitar and bass, its refrain of “Permission requested…Permission denied,” a rallying cry amid thorny bursts of politically charged poetry. It’s got to be about Dobbs, but not in any direct way. The throb of Mary Timony’s bass near the end is like a migraine building, unbearably tense and confining.

The music is tight and driven, but it has its intervals of lyricism, where the guitar chords arc out anthemically and the barbed-wire starkness breaks for something akin to beauty. The guitar-slashing, drum bashing, bass pulsing breaks in “Needlepoint Tiger,” sound more like math-y post-rock than punk; they’re exciting and elevating. “Abstract City,” too, has a grand, enveloping surge; its instrumental sounds come in like a tide rolling in and up to your knees. MacKaye is mostly a barker, a ranter, a howler, but he has his moments of D. Boon-ish introspection, especially on the closer “Mission Statement.”

The point is that Hammered Hull can crank out a classic DC post-punk when it wants to, but it can do a lot of other things, too. Barbed wire and paranoia break for intervals of unexpected beauty—and vice versa. The lines are clean and the intensity undeniable.

Jennifer Kelly

[dustedmagazine]

Algiers – Shook (Matador)

On Shook, Franklin James Fisher, Lee Tesche, Ryan Mahan and Matt Tong sound refreshed, energized by collaboration and completely confident in their identity. Switching organically between punk, gospel, soul, hip hop, jazz and afro-futurism, Algiers speaks directly to a world under siege, a cacophonous ball of confusion from which they meld a cohesive interrogation of the violence at the heart of American power and a celebration of resistance and survival.

Fisher’s voice is a commanding presence throughout, and the call-and-response construction of many of the songs provides a unifying motif. In the adrenaline-fueled rushes of “Something Wrong” and “Good Man,” the band rediscovers the power that made their first two albums so compelling. But it’s the engagement with collaborators that provides the most interesting moments. Rapper Big Rube calls for resistance over a minimal orchestra swell and massed distant voices on “As it Resounds”; billy woods and Backxwash speak directly to police violence and the manipulation of white grievance over a skittering drum machine and piano motif on “Bite Back.” Mark Cisneros ties the “Out Of Style Tragedy” of domestic weaponization to victory of political and financial self-interest as the band chants Sun Ra’s “Nuclear War” in the background. Jae Matthews provides the female counterpoint to Fisher and Samuel T. Herring on the lacerating “I Can’t Stand It.” LaToya Kent speaks from the perspective of a black mother: “Burying her feelings with the men she bore to life/Her heart heavier than the body.”  On “An Echophonic Soul,” DeForrest Brown, Jr’s electronics and Patrick Shirioshi’s sax provide a keening background to an invocation of the other dead in the electric mist.

The record closes with Lee Bains III intoning, “When we die/The neighbors will bring casseroles/Drag shows will be held in our honor/… /The marchers in the boulevard will take their knee/Raise their fist/Drop their face/Silent in the midday traffic/Like a stone in a quick river/When we die, our beloved, our kinfolk/Fear not, we rise.” The song delivers a modicum of hope amid the bloodshed and culture war bullshit that drives it. At a time when black, female and queer lives and agency are being erased and their histories whitewashed, the diversity of voices and styles gives Shook astonishing power as an expression of possibility. Algiers may not have the answers but they’re damn sure asking the right questions. The material is here, heed the call.

As a sidenote, in January Queens producer King Vision Ultra released Shook World, a mix tape built on stems from Shook (supplied by Algiers) and his own sound archive featuring guests such as DJ Haram, ELUCID, Dreamcrusher and Dis Fig. It is envisioned as a companion piece rather than a remix, a conversation which broadens the scope of both records. It is well worth hearing and can be found here: https://algierstheband.bandcamp.com/album/shook-world-hosted-by-algiers

Andrew Forell

[ruiraiox]

Two Freedoms: A Review Of The New Album From New Freedom Sound (Jawbox, Des Demonas)

A Review Of The New Album From New Freedom Sound (Jawbox, Des Demonas)

There's always been resilience and versatility in this scene. Given the preconceptions about the rigidity of harDCore, it's worth remembering the diversity here, and the adaptability as well. Zach Barocas, famed drummer for Jawbox, has enlisted a host of players for another record as New Freedom Sound. The music within the grooves is transcendent, broad-minded, and a testament to the skills of the instrumentalists on this release, musicians with lots of connections to lots of D.C.-area projects. Two Freedoms offers up two extended examples of how music can break through genre restrictions while showing the power and adaptability of a host of those most closely associated with the best music this city continues to offer.

"Fourteenth Freedom" opens with interplay between Gordon Withers' cello and vocals from Janet Morgan (Channels). The piece unfolds with a sense of gentle urgency, that cello giving space to viola from Erica Kane. Soon, cornet, and then sax from Mark Cisneros (Hammered Hulls, Kid Congo Powers and the Pink Monkey Birds, Des Demonas, Deathfix, etc.) are sharing space with Lenny Young's oboe and percussive accentuation from Barocas. There's a sonic similarity here to some recent efforts from Angel Bat Dawid, though Barocas and his ensemble are not strictly limiting themselves to jazz idioms. There is repitition, with the voices working up a sort of John Adams-ish fervor around the space where the instrumentalists jostle and spar. There are moments for contemplation amid the sounds, and others where the energy overtakes all. Faint piano from J. Robbins (Jawbox, Office of Future Plans, Channels) punctuates the sonic maelstrom before resolution is achieved.

"Twelfth Freedom" opens with Gordon Withers' cello staking a path forward. Horns from Lenny Young and Mark Cisneros provide bursts of force against the yearning strings. The figures of the oboe and vocals repeat while flute from Cisneros briefly responds. Insistent percussion from Barocas leads the ensemble onward as the horns continue their questioning around the main musical hook. On this piece, Barocas seems to be driving the tune, after the other players have circled around it. Compared to "Fourteenth Freedom", this number is certainly more percussive. Finally, Viol da Gamba from Amy Domingues (Garland of Hours) adds a new flavor to this music, with those warm tones and those of Withers' cello carrying this piece to a contemplative end.

[eckshecks]

15 things to do around D.C. in September, from street festivals to Art All Night

Festivals abound in the coming month, with outdoor parties taking over Adams Morgan, H Street and more.

25th anniversary at Black Cat , Sept. 14-15

Washington’s music scene has been lucky to have this venue for 25 years and counting, and the venerable club is marking the history with a two-night bash. Night One’s bill features local punks Des Demonas and a solo set by Ted Leo. Saturday will provide a double dose of Mary Timony, who will headline the night with Ex Hex and will debut a new supergroup called Hammered Hulls, featuring local punk rock luminaries Alec MacKaye (Ignition, the Warmers) and Mark Cisneros (Deathfix, Chain and the Gang) and drummer Chris Wilson (Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and Titus Andronicus). Doors at 7 p.m. both nights. $25 per night. — Hau Chu

[jwarminsky]

The legendary Kid himself and guitarist Mark Cisneros talked to me for Bandwidth.fm about the new Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds record.