Monthly Archives: February 2016

Ball of Wax 43 Songs: Thad Wenatchee and OK – Last Letter

Though Seattle producer and MC thad wenatchee makes his Ball of Wax debut with “Last Letter,” he’s a prolific member of the Seattle hip hop community, with connections to everything from the Hollow Earth Radio folks to the Filthy Fingers United collaborative … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 43 Songs: Thomas Pearo – We’ll Be OK

. . . and then sometimes you just want something simple and beautiful. Vermonter Thomas Pearo‘s looped guitar piece “We’ll Be OK” makes for a lovely bit of musical sorbet (and I mean that absolutely as a good thing) after the … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 43 Songs: Terwilliger Curves – Doubles the Rainbow

Finally, some tasty retro ’60s freak-out pop on the Ball of Wax. I’m not going to burst my own bubble by Googling band pictures, but in my mind the members of Terwilliger Curves all sport Prince Valiant haircuts and wear striped turtlenecks. … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 43 Songs: The Vardaman Ensemble – Hills & Monuments

If I were better at ever writing album reviews or composing year-end lists of favorite albums, you would have already heard me singing the praises of The Vardaman Ensemble, the skronky post-rock-and-jazz-in-a-blender side project of The Harvey Girls’ Hiram Lucke. … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 43 Songs: Perish the Island – Loose Blood

Luna Moth main man Mark Schlipper is a devotee of drone, ambiance and the hypnotic beauty of expansive repetition.  Whereas the Moth trades in heavy guitars, bass and drums, Schlipper’s other project, Perish the Island, works with more subtle soundscapes. “Loose Blood” … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 43 Songs: Candice Rose – Fraud

This is Candice Rose‘s first contribution to Ball of Wax, but a couple familiar names show up in the credits for this track: Christopher Hydinger of The Music of Grayface and his frequent co-conspirator Bobby Wayne Ingram. Candice gave me … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 43 Songs: Karaoke Hottiez – I Don’t Care, It Don’t Bother Me

Ok, so there’s the band name. Karaoke Hottiez is just brutal. It’s another in a growing trend of jokey pizza-fart-punk rock-ish names that seem to be all the rage in this town, evoking 8-bit ’90s Olympia backwash posing as transgressive … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 43 Songs: Lys Guillorn – Dialtone

Our old pal Lys Guillorn returns to the Ball of Wax sphere with “Dialtone,” a dark, dreamy meditation consisting of minimalist, layered electric guitar (with a hefty dose of e-bow) and Lys’s weary, languid voice. There’s no chorus or refrain … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 43 Songs: Raymond Anderson – Two Dreams

From the first few bars, I was all in on Raymond Anderson’s “Two Dreams,” a brief lo fi torch song featuring crooning vocals, jazzy chord changes, and stream of consciousness lyrics. Anderson employs just voice, electric guitar, and some analog … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 43 Songs: Aaron Starkey of Long Dark Moon – Too Busy

You might recognize Aaron Starkey’s voice from the dark, moody sounds of his rock band Gibraltar, but here on Volume 43 he’s bringing us something a little different. “Too Busy” is a solo acoustic demo of a song by his … Continue reading

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