Birds of Passage/Je Suis Le Petit Chevalier/Motion Sickness of Time Travel/Aloonluna
Taxidermy of Unicorns [2xCS; Watery Starve]

The dearth of women in experimental music is a gap worth bridging. In the sausage party of drone and minimalism (any any outsider form of musical art you care to reference), the list of women as creators grows, even if recognition remains stunted. Lynn Fister’s Watery Starve label (of which Cerberus has had a love affair with since its first beautiful cassette hit our mailbox) has said poppycock to such notions, Taxidermy of Unicorns a resounding testament to four notable women creating thoughtful and boundary erasing music. Though remarkably feminine in timbre, there’s a fair amount of bravado to each side. The breathy pop drone of Alicia Merz’s Birds of Passage is a confident reminder that melody and romance can be as provoking as the louder, aggressive males of the species. Je Suis Le Petit Chevalier stands as the meditative representation of Félicia Atkinson, “Sauna Fauna” wavering little from its pensive pose; stalwart in its resolve to exist in a world seemingly keen on ignoring it. Rachel Evans has emerged as one of the boys with Motion Sickness of Time Travel, but here she showcases the womanly wiles of synth and space; a piece as seductive as it is tough. Fister’s own Aloonaluna is most braggadocios, beginning as a buzzing taunt before bullying the noise world into synthetic submission. What’s most remarkable with the musical gender bending is not that Taxidermy of Unicorns serves as a reminder not only to James Brown’s shortsighted edict but to the supposed lack of women able to cut it in the all-encompassing hap-dash of experimental music. These four women, beyond biology, are exceptional musicians. Fister’s curatorial touch in managing this immaculate package may showcase a feminine touch but there’s only so many beards and slam dances a man can stand. This is a take notice moment and seemingly the man’s world is doing just that.

Links: Watery Starve

Cerberus

Cerberus seeks to document the spate of home recorders and backyard labels pressing limited-run LPs, 7-inches, cassettes, and objet d’art with unique packaging and unknown sound. We love everything about the overlooked or unappreciated. If you feel you fit such a category, email us here.

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