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Nine Fingered Thug review in Sound Projector Somehow missed this review when it first came out, but never to late to appreciate it! Here is a reposting:

‘Bitter Ballads’ (HOLLOW BUNNY RECORDS HB005) by Nine Fingered Thug is just totally excellent, from its twisted Matt Minter cover art to every second of its EP-length grooves. While Buffalo Bangers pay explicit homage to various late-1970s New Wave bands with their sound, Nine Fingered Thug are far more eccentric and artistic and while it’s possible to characterise this record as some species of punk-inflected monstrousness, it’s just got so many elements that don’t fit neatly – including the mannered snarly vocals by Samuel M.Z. Mintu and the utterly spooked-out organ work from the great Irene Moon. Come to that, what’s the madcap Irene Moon even doing in a “band”? 2 The two songs here are both hymns to a pair of subversive visual artists, Hans Bellmer and Unica Zürn 3, and the insert includes a photograph of the duo nursing one of their doll constructs. The lyrics, especially those for the ‘Hans’ side, are sympathetic to the dark side of these far-out modernists, while also spinning a nightmarish yarn out of free-form streams of surreal poetry. It’s a genuine attempt to crawl inside the heads of these strange creators. Mintu, credited with “grumbling” as well playing the bass, grunts out these unwelcome visions of ugliness from a deep part of the psyche. There’s also the guitarist Services Lobo and Dabney Scott Craddock IV on drums, and I mention all four players because I can hardly credit the bizarre sound they make together – guitars and keyboards shining dimly among a fug of rather awkward rhythms – rather like a gothic version of Butthole Surfers. Also I enjoy they way they don’t really sit comfortably together as a band; each one plays as though they were making a completely different record from the others. Nothing but praise have I for this slab of grotesque beauty. Probably received some time before June 2011 but was released in 2010.
Posted by Irene Moon at 9:12 AM No comments: Labels: Nine Fingered Thug, review, Sound Projector Frankford Hall * 1210 Frankford Ave * Philadelphia, PA 19125
Monday, April 28 6:30pm – 7:30pm

A showy reintroduction to some of the natural world’s icky organisms, by the researchers who cherish them. Discover how the human response to be repulsed is all quite explainable.

Itchy Itchy Scratch: Insects That Make Your Skin Crawl and the Lovely Reasons Why (Irene Moon & Yon Visell)
Does the sound of bees buzzing make your skin crawl? Why does the site of a cockroach give us the creepy-crawlies? Sing and dance your way through this surrealist entomological performance and discover how the sensation of touch affects human perception.

Pond Scum and You (Richard McCourt)
What is that slimy green stuff on the wall of your house?  What's in that green goo in your swimming pool?  They are algae, or a some would call them, pond scum, and this multimedia presentation will highlight the world of these strange tiny plants, which despite their not so nice reputation turn out to be the most important plants on earth.

Partners: Frankford Hall, Drexel University, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, American Museum of Natural History

Your hosts:

Katja Seltmann (American Museum of Natural History)
Yon Visell (Drexel University)
Richard McCourt (Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia)
Posted by Irene Moon at 9:05 AM No comments: