(VxPxC) - I See A Fire In The Distance (Ruralfaune, 2007)

1 Burning Oil Fields Light My Way 11:42
2 Black Holy Smoke Pillar 2:44
3 Incursion Principle 12:48
4 Night Of The Honey Locusts 6:58
5 Shaherrazad 10:45
6 Three Unwise Men 3:12

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(VxPxC) - Reticent To Manifest (Abandon Ship Records, 2007)

A1 Swooning
A2 Down To Nothing
B1 Icy Spectral Fingers
B2 Hard To Stand

Reticent to Manifest was made on a cold summer's night in Los Angeles... High on salsa verde and the thick brown air, three men went in and one long string of sound came out. (VxPxC) has been known for pulling some legs and some hair in the past, but this tape is the start of a very long apology of sorts... a way to say "Hey, we like music too... maybe just not the same stuff
as you, but you know..." Not a particularly heart-felt apology, mind you, but a start...
(VxPxC)

I understand (VxPxC), the LA-based troupe of sound murderers behind this unburnished, deep buried, gem of a cassette, have been at this since 2005. It sounds to my ears like they've used the time wisely and located a pretty unique vibrational source.

The first cut on this 40 something minute tape is one of its strongest. Wheezing accordions (or maybe organs?) and guitars are cloaked in a tape haze that sounds to me like the real sound of Los Angeles, the endless dust to which the Hotel California and the Hollywood sign will one day return.

The lanquid, yet bent and wobbly, quitar/vocal lament that opens side B (Icy Spectral Fingers) sounds like the death of a penny arcade. The moans of once cherished amusements breathing their last with a quivering sense of resignation can be heard as keyboards begin to surface in the mix. Or maybe it was just really late at night when the fellas recorded it. Or maybe I left my copy in the sun too long. Whatever it is, it totally works and runs real deep.

The next cut, which I think is called Hard to Stand, sweeps away some of the muck for a phased-out mindscratcher. It is a rather glorious confusion of totally unintelligible vocals and tenuous fidelity. Just the way I like it.

I've not heard the length and breadth of (VxPxC)?s discography so I can't comment on where this sits within their rapidly increasing back catalogue. I can say that what we have here is a great document of a band that seems to have stumbled on a pretty thrilling collision of sounds.
Foxy Digitalis

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(VxPxC) - Acceptance Of The Existence Of The Unobserved (Burial Mound Tapes, 2007)

A1 Acceptance 1
A2 Acceptance 2
A3 Acceptance 3
A4 Acceptance 4
B1 Denial 1
B2 Denial 2
B3 Denial 3
B4 Denial 4
B5 Denial 5

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(VxPxC) - Noche de Rabanos (self release, 2008 reissue)

01. La flor inmortal y el totomoxtle - 18:16

02. Pero congrega practicamente - 13:22

03. A todos los habitantes de la ciudad en el area del zocalo, - 14:18

04. Quienes concurren con el objecto de admirar la creatividad de los participantes - 11:20

The second long-form tape. This one celebrating Noche de Rabanos, the Night of the Radishes
festival. Four long tracks to take you on a journey through the Zocalo in Oaxaca to observe the
spectacularly carved radishes of this celebration.
(VxPxC)

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(VxPxC) - First of December Day (self release, 2005)

01. Mono Filament Blues - 5:21

02. The Reverend P - 1:15

03. Fake Organ March - 7:12

04. Mad Hatter's Waltz - 6:15

05. Clouds & Sea, Winds & Sails - 7:28

06. Mother of Pearl - 11:06

07. On the Island - 7:32

08. One Minute Interlude - 1:02

09. Once More, With Feeling - 3:26

10. On The Boiling Sea - 8:25

11. Riding the Waves - 3:05

12. May All Yr. Dreams - 8:01

13. Sea Shanty Interlude - 1:01

14. Second To Last Thing I Do - 2:07

15. As Yu Descend - 2:38

16. The Last Thing - 3:08

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(VxPxC) - Election Day (self release, 2005)

01. Early Mornings Budding Sickness - 4:05

02. Dressing Down The Drapery - 5:01

03. Broken Record Interlude - 2:15

04. Song To Ward Off Evangelicals - 7:35

05. Foggy Landings - 0:53

06. Wavering March - 4:23

07. Drunken Rhythms - 2:49

08. Music To Read Voting Guides To - 6:12

09. Dry Ice - 6:26

Side B

10. Apologetic Interlude - 1:08

11. Political Playing Points - 5:46

12. Everything's Going To Be Alright - 9:04

13. Real Time Slow Motion - 4:57

14. The Sleepytime Collection - 4:03

15. How Our Grasps Seem Fleeting - 6:33

16. An Old Familiar Tune For Drifting Away - 8:06

17. All Done - 0:06

Obviously quite concerned with the evil state of the American government, but still morbidly fascinated with the celebration of it in holidays, these purveyors of moody ambience return with a solid collection of improvised pieces. Ranging from the bluesy but drugged “Song to Ward Off Evangelicals” to the never-ending sonic waves of “grain” found on “Music to Read Voting Guides By”, Election Day is one release worth voting for again and again.

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(VxPxC) - Arroyo Mountain Day (self release, 2005)

1. TB Blues 2005 - 1:12

02. A Mechanized Sunset... - 0:45

03. Brings a Mechanized Night - 2:47

04. And a Cold Wind Blows - 2:09

05. Insect Fiddlers - 4:49

06. Banshees with Laryngitis - 3:51

07. They Came on Silver Boats - 3:50

08. The Aliens Brought Maize - 5:29

09. Acoustic? - 3:59

10. They Left on Corn Husks and PBR Cans - 4:05

11. Blisters on My Fingers - 4:43

12. The Hills Are Alive with Ghosts - 4:55

13. Voices Without Mouths - 4:30

14. Dawn Breaks - 8:46

15. "Hill" the Musical - 0:39

High atop this haunted mountain in old Los Angeles comes a sound both frightening and inviting.
Moving further away from the holiday themed titles, this seems to dedicate itself to a place AND a time.
Recorded outside, but definitely manipulated inside, this acoustic/electric affair is a truly cybernetic synthesis of our modern world. Acoustic guitars and banjos collide and juxtapose nicely with looped keyboards and feedbacking Jew’s Harps and harmonicas.
(VxPxC)

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(VxPxC) - The Last Days Of (VxPxC) (Foxglove, 2006)

1 Retablo
2 Churning Of Angels
3 Massive Squallor
4 The Heart's Lament
5 Out, Out Damn Moon

after their monster 3xCDR set from earlier this year, we just knew that one day the los angeles-based (VxPxC) would steal our little hearts. on this, their final session of 2005, these boy wonders extricate spacious, intricate compositions from the spiral galaxy drones of yesteryear. a vast array of instrumentation provide the perfect canvas for these majestic spells. this is music that grows from the roots, falling head-first into the icy tendrils of the new dawn. their voices pierce the organ murk and guitar expanses like lonesome souls begging to be freed. this is magical toward oblivion.
Foxglove

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