Record review: The Humminbird - 'Beyond the Orchard'

By Gene Wagendorf III 

A warmly unfolding autoharp breaks the silence, a kind of sacred sound usually reserved for moments of intense sorrow or intense worship, and it ripples and echoes with the slow strength of shifting earth. The chords swirl and fade angelically until their spell is split by the call of a wailing apparition. It's an almost romantic beckon, just slightly out of reach behind the repetition of the harp. Then it's gone, and the harp rings steadily and the atmosphere builds crystalline before thunder- a throng of fuzz and booming percussion blasts the ceremony. It's the joyously terrifying kind of hypnosis that allows you to be completely jarred without falling out of the daze. It's "White Porcelain," the opening song on Beyond the Orchard, the latest record from local psychedelic poet Muyassar Kurdi.

Kurdi is the force behind The Humminbird, a freak-folk project made up of at least Kurdi and often times a rotating cast of local psych and folk heavyhitters. This latest release finds the singer alone with her autoharp, conjuring up dreamy meditations drenched in mystery and sensuality. "Fill Me Up" opens with yet another almost holy riff, but sharper this time, and Kurdi's vocals are more familiar and clear. The juxtaposition of her seductive croon and the pseudo-religious vibe of her harp is a mesmerizing one, lending the song a kinky edge. That number's fade to silence gives way to the opening hum of "Drone," an appropriately-titled jam that soaks the listener in waves of thick, vibrating feedback. It's a patient, luring hum that feels both slightly sinister and yet a bit too comfortable. That ability to be both oppressive and tantalizing in their noise explorations helps set The Humminbird apart from many of their peers. Kurdi will take you to strange, uncomfortable places, but it's rarely a test of endurance and more often an entrancing voyage.

Things get stormy- in a good way- on "Dear Momma," a song that combines the enveloping sonics of "Drone" with the siren's desperation of "Porcelain." It builds from dreamy graveyard riffs to snarling whips of feedback with magnetic determination, the end result being both alarmingly turbulent and vibrantly affirming. "Don't Want Your Love" follows, and offers arguably the most beautiful and sincere piece of Beyond the Orchard. The song is a nice synthesis of some of Kurdi's likely influences, shoegazers Mazzy Star and the legendary Velvet Underground. Like Hope Sandoval's, Kurdi's voice rises and falls with graceful urgency, fluttering over ethereal harps and echoes. The instrumentation flexes and sighs perfectly, creating a dynamic, whimsical tension ala Nico-era VU.

Closing out the record is its title-track, "Beyond the Orchard." The song has a brooding, Nick Cave-ish swagger to it, thanks in no small part to a threatening beat laid down by drummer Jonathan Alvin. Kurdi pushes her vocals into slightly more traditional spaces, matching the drum's pace with her lyrics while still whipping up bursts of noise with her harp. The singer's mantra, let a flower grow, climaxes in a psych jam that showcases how brilliant a conductor of electricity Kurdi is.  It's the most captivating moment on Beyond the Orchard, and it does a fine job of leaving the listener dazed and wanting more.

'Beyond the Orchard' is available for purchase here. The Humminbird kicks off a spring tour with a Chicago show May 1st at Mortville. Listen to "Don't Want Your Love" and then check out the full tour details below. 




Humminbird Southeast Tour 2014

May 1- Chicago @ Mortville
May 2- Cincinnati @ The Comet 
May 3- Asheville @ MOUNTAIN PARTY 
May 4- Charlotte @ Milestone 
May 5- Greensboro @ TYP Haus
May 6- Athens @ Go Bar 
May 7- Macon @ Fresh Produce Records 
May 8- New Orleans @TBA
May 9- Memphis @ Lamplighter Lounge
May 10- Nashville @ Betty's 
May 11- St. Louis @ Revisionist Inn

Windy City Rock Presents: a benefit for Intuit, the Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art

By Gene Wagendorf III

Regular readers of Windy City Rock will know that we love the strange, the weird, the out there, and the confrontational. Luckily for us, Chicago is home to an incredible experimental music scene that thrives both in traditional venues and in various basements, warehouses and gallery spaces. These bands are outsiders in the sense that their music sheds convention and predictability, defying genres and constantly crafting some of the most fascinating tunes in existence. 

Chicago also happens to be home to Intuit, an incredible organization devoted to self-taught and outsider art. The Center presents "self-taught and outsider art with world class exhibitions; resources for scholars and students; a permanent collection with holdings of more than 1,100 works of art... and educational programming for people of all interest levels and backgrounds." They're a unique group that does something we at WCR believe in firmly. Their focus and aesthetic is in-line with that of many of the experimental musicians we love, and they continue to operate thanks to the generosity of both donors and their members. In a unique twist, Intuit currently occupies a space that legendary and influential avant-gospel group ONO played thirty years ago, in July of 1983. 

It is with this in mind that we're happy to partner again with Chicago's best rock club, The Empty Bottle, in hosting a benefit show for our friends at Intuit. This charity concert will take place on Sunday, December 8th (7pm, 21+, $8), with proceeds going directly to Intuit. We've put together an amazing lineup featuring some of the city's best experimental musicians, and we'd love for you to join us for a mind-expanding, ear-shattering good time.

Windy City Rock Presents: an Intuit Benefit Show

Sunday, December 8th
7pm, $8 donation 

Crown Larks

Official Website  Facebook  Bandcamp

 

Mako Sica

Official Website  Facebook  Bandcamp

DJPTSD [members of ONO]

Official Website  Facebook  SoundCloud

The Humminbird

Official Website  Bandcamp

The bands have generously offered to donate their sets, and The Bottle is joining them by donating the door. With that in mind, we ask you join us, buy some records/tapes, have a few drinks and jam out for a good cause. 

Tickets are on sale at The Empty Bottle's website, and you can join the action on Facebook here.

If you enjoyed this, like us on Facebook and follow Gene on Twitter. 

Record review: Humminbird, Bowl of Dust & Co. - 'Noble Creatures'

By Gene Wagendorf III   

Last month saw the musical joining of two sonically kindred spirits, The Humminbird and Bowl of Dust & Co. The fruit of that union is Noble Creatures, a remarkably challenging and rewarding tape released on Dowager Records.

In his 1956 poem "America," Allen Ginsberg confessed to having "mystical visions and cosmic vibrations." On Noble Creatures, we find Kyle Klipowicz and Muyassar Kurdi celebrating those same afflictions, 56 years later. However, rather than aim that sentiment politically, these two Chicago musicians have chosen a spiritual reveal that examines more that state of being and less its political and sociological context. The record opens in soft ceremony, with the sacramental tinkering of a singing bowl and inquisitive clarinet noodling. The track, "Now," builds energy with its chanted, titular mantra, before dissolving into a rippling, synthesized froth that feels startlingly mechanical and foreign. From that dissonance springs "Lap of a Savior," whose ambling string melody carries Klipowicz's familiar drawl. Kurdi's voice sails behind; a spectral and seductive wave that floats through the tune. Though a remarkably simple song, it stands as clear evidence of what these two singers are capable of when playing off of one another. For all the esoteric and charmingly organic instrumentation, the genius of Noble Creatures lies in the moments when the singer's voices dance- at once in relaxed harmony and convulsing discourse.