Category: Reviews

Northern Liberties – “Easter Island” (Shelf Life, 4/3/08)

dana

Thursday, April 3, 2008
Northern Liberties – “Easter Island”

So Northern Liberties is this freaky band I saw a couple weeks ago at Circle of Hope when I went to see British Lit play. They were awesome. Both bands, actually, but NoLibs also had a 7″ for sale so lucky you.

They were a three-piece consisting of a drummer, bassist and singer/percussionist. Sometimes the singer would scream and get in the crowd’s faces, sometimes he would strap on one of those marching band tomtom thingies and just start pounding. Oh, and they brought their own smoke machine.

So yeah, they ruled, and if they’re ever playing in your town make sure you go see ’em. They played a Nirvana cover, too (“Dive”)! The only thing I’m on the fence about is their name. I think it only sounds cool if you’re not from Philly. But that’s most people, so I guess it’s OK.

The single is a couple years old and consists of intense noise and yelling. Not too heavy on the extra percussion on either side, unfortunately, but intriguing nonetheless. I’m posting the b-side because it’s the one that grabbed me more. And I’m posting only the b-side because if you like it you should go buy it. Mine’s numbered four hundered something out of 500 so like, time’s runnin’ out. Get on that.

Posted by Bjorn Randolph at 03:22

http://shelflifetunes.blogspot.com/2008/04/northern-liberties-easter-island.html

Northern Liberties :: Ghost Mind Electricity (Heathen Harvest, 2/15/08)

dana

Friday, February 15 2008 @ 12:00 AM PST
Contributed by: S:M:J63

Label: Badmaster Records United States

Genre: Psychedelic / Post-punk / Grunge

01 Controlled by Voices from Beyond
02 Children of the Unholy Cross
03 Among the Unborn
04 Psionic Sorcery Song
05 Justice for Tommy
06 Changing
07 Silver Fire
08 E.G.G. (Emerald Ghost Garden)
09 Dead Deer House
10 Cre(mate)
11 Asylum
12 National Anthem (For Birds)

Okay, there’s two things you should know – firstly, I am not much for listening to ‘conventional’ music these days, simply because a great deal of it is just simply regurgitated dullness while at the more commercial end it’s just pure unalloyed pap; secondly, and more importantly in the context of this review, that despite Northern Liberties’ music being quite conventional compared to the normal run of my musical tastes I have to say quite unequivocally that this is bloody excellent quality stuff from the quirky Philadelphia trio, starting right from the bright yellow six panel digipak decorated with vocalist & percussionist Justin Duerr’s striking naïve artwork (which continues on the interior with the exception of the band portraits) and on to the music itself. One of the more noteworthy aspects of their music is that they break away from the conventional band structure of guitar, bass and drums, relying on just percussion, drums and bass to build musical pictures of their strange and very much out-of-kilter universe.

It’s slightly shambolic and tinged with madness, but don’t let that fool you for one second – in reality sharpness defines everything on this album, from the tightness of the musicianship to Justin’s imaginative lyricism and poetic imagery. Taking some of the lyrical and unsettling surreality of the seventies’ psychedelic scene and marrying it to a post-punk grunge aesthetic, Justin, his brother Marc and bassist Kevin (no second name given) construct a driving behemoth of a musical vehicle imbued with energy and razor-sharp edginess. To top it all off Justin’s plaintive, nervy and asylum-inflected vocals are the perfect counterpoint to the drums- and bass-propelled backing framework, investing it with even more nervous electricity and lighting it all up with a neon-lit brightness. The world that Justin sings about is a disturbing, fuzzy, out of focus and more than slightly unhinged one, a place seemingly solely inhabited by interestingly pale gothic heroines, fortean phenomena, devil children and misplaced souls still looking for their owners.

Above all though, it’s that tension between the nervy vocal delivery and the dirty self-assured and self-confident powerhouse of the music that contributes to the deliciously electric shiver-inducing frisson of pleasure this album produces and is also the main reason why I like it so much. Personal favourites are ‘Controlled by Voices from Beyond’, ‘Children of the Unholy Cross’, ‘Psionic Sorcery Song’, ‘Changing’ and ‘Cre(mate)’ – absolutely perfect examples of what happens when the alchemy of words and music is handled by masters of the art.

In a world where the musical, cultural and aesthetic tastes of the many are seemingly dictated by the so-called music media and governed by the lowest common denominator it’s always a joy to come across those who are resolutely determined to swim against the tide, just like these folks are doing. What pisses me off most though is that these same people, who have genuine talent and ability in buckets, will never get to the top of the pile where they deserve to reside while the no-hopers get spoon-fed to the drooling glassy-eyed masses and passed off as the genuine article. Ah well, at least there are those of us who are more than discerning than the vast majority it seems….

Northern Liberties – Ghost Mind Electricity (Deaf Sparrow, 2008)

dana

Now that the whole no guitar pure bass and drums band formula is going into some sort of toddler-like stage we can assess the work of bands like this Philadelphia foursome and used other templates as a point of comparison. Of the most distinctive and that we could probably tag as a flagship band we got Big Business (Here Come the Waterworks), whose latest work has taken a right turn and has improved greatly simply by re-targeting the songwriting towards a more immediate sound. Northern Liberties’ newest recording is somewhere in the middle, not so far to the left as to come off as way experimental, nor too right indented as to come off as formulaic, radio-ready, or to grant the tagging of ‘fucking sell-out’, it works quite well for a few tracks, but then it sort of falls and gets rather bland.

It’s obvious that the main instrument is the bass here, its tone is low (though not lower than say a Kyuss guitar) and clear but it carries the weight of the music making the absence of the six strings quite rightful. There are no riffs here, but notes moving up and down and side to side and drums playing their part, quite conservatively I must say, considering this is a band with no guitars. Brothers Marc and Justin Duerr handle the drums and voice/percussion here, and is obvious that in some parts there is an extra layer of skin beating.

The things is Ghost Mind Electricity comes off strong; “Controlled By Voices From Beyond” sounds like a more no wave and cro-magnon Talking Heads, and is followed by “Children of the Unholy Cross’, another strong cut that is singularly great at crafting a different take of the standard rock format. The absence of the guitars is here not an issue; when the track goes hard, fuck who cares about the fucking guitar? But as we approximate the middle of the album the songwriting gets lazy, hooks vanish and ideas of great bands Northern Liberties might evoke are no more. There is great stuff here, but it just isn’t enough and the songwriting isn’t even. “Changing” lacks everything, it sounds incomplete and uninventive. The sad part is the second half screams for a guitar, which kind of breaks the whole objective of the structure of the band.

Northern Liberties – Ghost Mind Electricity (Maximum Rocknroll, February 2008)

dana

This album definitely has its moments, and when it’s on, it’s on – the first song being one of the coolest I’ve heard in some time. Armed only with bass, percussion, and vox, NORTHERN LIBERTIES seem to channel a David Yow-esque sort of weirdo rock, musically and vocally. The vocals at times also have a bit of that INTERPOL -style fake Ian Curtis to them. The lack of guitar does cause this to feel a bit incomplete, but at times the holes seem to actually create the melodies. Unfortunately there are tracks throughout this album that I can’t tolerate one bit. Those are just a bit too “out there” for me. All in all, this disc is a rather eclectic collection of tunes that has some definite winners.

— Review by Justin Briggs, from Maximum Rock N Roll issue number 297, Feb. ’08

Northern Liberties – Ghost Mind Electricity (DUCK blog on WKDU.org, 2007)

dana

Way back when, in the early days of this new decade/millennium, when Northern Liberties (the neighborhood) was quickly becoming the next stop on the gentrification express; I had a small glimmer of hope that the rise in the profile of Northern Liberties (the neighborhood) would in turn help rise the profile of Northern Liberties (the band). Granted I never believed for a second that the majority of people who would possibly become aware of this West Philly trio by their association (in name) with an up-and-coming neighborhood would accept them with open arms. But hey, any press is good press, right….

Jump back to the present, and now Northern Liberties (the neighborhood) is one of the city’s hottest spots to live & hang out (at least until Fishtown/Kensington gets off the ground), and Northern Liberties (the band) remain one of Philly’s best kept secrets. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, I mean some of the greatest artists spent their entire lives shrouded in obscurity waiting patiently for the rest of the world to develop the eyes, ears, or whatever senses are required to fully appreciate their work (I believe the scientific term for this is The Van Gogh syndrome). And that definitely puts these guys in with good company…

But on the other hand, now that Northern Liberties (the neighborhood) is a safe haven for hipsters & yuppies alike (though in actuality there is little difference between the two, the hipster of today is really just the yuppie of tomorrow, you know, when mommy & daddy cut off the trust fund and they have to get, like, a real job, but I digress…), people approaching Northern Liberties (the band) for the first time may be a bit puzzled by the odd choice of name. Well let me be the one to enlighten you there newbie. Let’s step back in the Way Back machine shall we & take a look at the city in years of NLBG (Northern Liberties Before Gentrification, for those of you not down with acronyms). And what did this now hip & bustling community look back then: A vast, teeming industrial wasteland of abandoned warehouses, broken street lamps, danger, & madness (remember folks this was, more or less, the area of Philadelphia that inspired David Lynch to make Eraserhead). And it is these images that, in a way, best describe the music that Northern Liberties makes.
Make no bones about it, these boys are all about the doom & gloom, but they also can recognize the beauty & wonder that exists in this modern urban asylum.

(Note to the band:
If you’re looking for critical endorsements to slap on the cover, I humbly offer the previous statement as well as the following:
“The Soundtrack to Humanity’s Spiritual Apocalypse & Rebirth”
“Songs About the Things That Go Bump in the Nightmare of Your Psyche”
“What Lurks in the Shadows When You’re Alone at Night? Listen to This Album and Find Out!”
“Hey, If You’re a Pigeon You’ll Love This Band!”)
Which brings us (at last!) to Ghost Mind Electricity, Northern Liberties newest tome to the mysteries of modern life. Recorded by Don Zientara at Inner Ear Studios, this album tackles subject matter such as: voices calling from other astral planes, the dreams of unborn babies, death, resurrection, dead deers, war, blood, psychic nurses, & in Northern Liberties’ ongoing struggle for the rights of birds everywhere, finally, a National Anthem (For Birds).

My reaction to this album, as well as the other Northern Liberties’ album & most of all their live shows, is really hard (if not outright impossible) to put into words. It definitely grabs me in an intellectual level, as well as a gut level, but in the end it grabs me the most in a spiritual way (hey here’s another blurb: Finally a Band That Will Make The Atheists Believe In…Something!). Each encounter with this band (and once again the live shows especially) is like a baptism in fire, blood, & electricity, and every time I reemerge I’m still convinced that the world is a dark & scary place, but I also have a renewed hope that there still is something resembling magic in this world…

Once again Justin Duerr & co. have walk down that fine line between madness & enlightenment into the gaping jaw of the unknown & have come back, souls intact, with an album reporting what they have found for benefit for all of us true believers…

Northern Liberties – Ghost Mind Electricity (preemptive_strike, 2007)

dana

“ghost mind electricity” is the lord knows how many-th record by west philly heroes northern liberties. usually a band who are much better represented by their live show then by their recorded output, the band appears to have finally struck gold, doing it up right and heading down to inner ear to let don zientara run the knobs on this. the result is definitely the best sounding northern liberties output thus far. the music is the same formula, drums+bass+vox(and sometimes more drums). the result is very offbeat and loose but still punk sounding. a record can break into either an intense moment or a stoner jam on the drop of a dime. while still a band that you really need to see live to get the full effect, this is the best shot so far at a truly AWESOME record by the band. i cant even recommend any tracks because they are pretty much all awesome.

Justin Duerr, Northern Liberties and the C.O.D.E. space (Eskandalo!, 2007/8?)

dana

JUSTIN DUERR~
Radio Pigeon Man
Justin Duerr, Northern Liberties and the C.O.D.E. space by Alison Leigh, 2007/8?

I am here to tell you a story. A story about a person, a place, some other people and some thoughts. Oh and some birds as well.
   

    Let’s start with the subject of this article- Justin Duerr. While attending a show at the C.O.D.E. space in Philly one night, I was blown away by a band called PRE. Then I watched a band from Israel who were really really funny. Then as I stood on the mini ramp across the room of this seemingly endless place where bands can set up just about anywhere and play a show, I witnessed three people begin their set. I snapped away with my little camera and captured what appears to be some sort of death march cult chant of darkness taking place in a dungeon in some church on the wrong (right) side of town. 

The pictures tell it all really. Oh and speaking of cults, um the C.O.D.E. space is what one might refer to as a cult. Not the Kool-Aid suicide kind of cult mind you, but the gather-everyone-up-and-do-something-awesome kind of cult.

    C.O.D.E.— the Church of Divine Energy—was founded by Justin and a guy name Seph. The two of them currently reside at the space but it was once a place to see shows practically every night of the week. They stopped with the band stuff because it got boring or something. Anyway, they wanted to have things going on there all the time but the band thing took over so they decided to, I don’t know, feed the space some tainted Kool-Aid and end it all. Well, they youtubed everything that happened in that place for your viewing pleasure. Here’ some.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs9yQYcBVBA
    
 
So anyway, back to the band. The words dark, moody, intense, frightening— all describe their sound. They are a three piece with one bass player and two drummers. The band is made up of two brothers and one childhood friend. They have been in bands together since they were 12. I guess you could say they have had plenty of time to figure out their sound, right? Anyway, they have a website. It’s  right here.
http://www.northernlibertiesband.com/NL/HOME.PHP
 I will give a run down of what I saw in the order that it happened, to give you all an idea of what it’s like to see them play a show. First, I was your average jaded person in the crowd. I saw two great bands in two different parts of the venue so I didn’t even realize that another was about to start, on an actual stage. So all of the sudden there was music. And for about 5 seconds I was like “Ho hum what are the chances that there could be 3 good bands all in a row? Like zero out of a hundred mil——wait— this band is actually fucking AWESOME!” Seriously, that is verbatim what my brain said to itself.

 I got my camera ready, and found a spot atop the ramp. I tuned in just in time to see a man with really short hair and white face makeup wearing a scary red cape, RIP the cape off of himself to reveal a crazy looking house dress with a gigantic collar. All in a matter of 1/8th of a second. Brain asplodes.

    So I proceeded to take pictures and get involved with what was going on. The music is seriously enveloping the whole room. I was jealous of the people who were close up to the stage, but at the same time I was at a good vantage point for seeing the show. Not so great for photos but I liked what the pics were looking like— they were weird as hell, and I just can’t complain about that!

    THEN, at some really dramatic point during a song, Justin whips out a marching band drum  that rests on his shoulders (see pic) and starts playing this marching band type of beat— like marching straight to your death— in  a single line— expressionless but wildly happy- the kind that feels like you joined a cult and were quite naive and content about it;   you just feel the sound. At this point I was like— ready to add them to my list of favorite new bands on my myspace, so you KNOW it’s for real!

    Just when you think it couldn’t get any creepier, he starts reading from this book. I have no idea what he’s saying whatsoever but it really didn’t matter.  It was the cadence and the seriousness of the words that made me stop and listen. And of course when asked what it was he was reading, I was let in on something TRULY. FASCINATING.

   The Toynbee Tiles.

     Maybe you read that link. Maybe you didn’t. In any case, Arnold Toynbee is a writer. The book Experiences was the one being read. The writer is referenced on this website. I dare you to read it. Seriously- DARE!

  “A stop-watch would, no doubt, have registered that the duration of this transport had been infinitesimally brief; yet, in virtue of the poignancy of the experience, the momentary posthumous spectator’s imagination was able, ever after, to recapture the atmosphere of that dire reunion of husband and wife; and this one scene in the tragic drama of a civil war between a Roman Republic and an Italian Confederacy would call up, before his mind’s eye, a series of dramatic incidents running back past the climax of the catastrophe to its eve…”

Uhhhh….. makes me a tad stupified.  Anyway, someone is doing a documentary on the tiles, which they believe originated in Philadelphia and ended up in random towns in South America. Justin is  featured in the doc and is referenced in the Wiki entry. I really recommend you to peruse the articles I linked. It is quite bizarre information to say the least!

Moving on…

    So after the show was over I was all crazy blown away and had a great time. One of the best shows I’ve been to in a really long time— actually, it was the day after the MEMES show I attended so the weekend has gone down in history as one of the best-  for the sake of the music of now, and for the good of all mankind— hallelujah! Northern Liberties has 3 albums out, two  7”s and 2 live acoustic shows they recorded on the fly. The newest of which is called Ghost Mind Electricity and is available for purchase. I can attest to this cd’s value— it’s so serious and intense but not preachy or annoying. It’s heavy as hell, it makes you want to dance at times, or smash a glass at others. Makes you want to blast it loud and scream at your parents! Awesome hahaha!

—-this article was scribed with the very blood of my wrist- that which I had to cut for the completion of this article. I suffer for my work….and so should you

post script~ the pigeon reference in the title has to do with the fact that he used to raise carrier pigeons. He now takes care of sick and injured birds with a woman named Enid. Together they are in a band called the Vivian Girls Experience. They sing songs about pigeons at times and it is available for purchase as well. I believe they may be pigeon people! Also check out their art photography together. It’s inspiring and disturbing, yet funny and practically high fashion as well. Basically, the deeper one digs into the lives of these people, the more fascinating they become….

post script script~ both Justin and Seph are ordained ministers and have performed wedding ceremonies at the CODE space. FYI!
*this was published a few years ago. This just happened: Directing Award, Documentary:
Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles, director Jon Foy, Sundance, 2011
He also has painted a mural in Eskandalo http://www.justinduerr.com/ArtPage1/htmPages/ArtPage1Image17.htm check it out! Congrats to all involved!!
the film! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcZELQhpf_o
There’s quite a bit of missing links in this article, and for that I aoplogize. Just recreated it for here real quick. Hope you are inspired to google up some stuff!


Originally Featured in the Eskandalo! Zine

Northern Liberties – Ghost Mind Electricity (Valiant Death, 2007)

dana

This is the third full length album by Philadelphia’s own NORTHERN LIBERTIES.

It’s obvious that lots of people can relate the energy of live music to a spiritual experience, but
Northern Liberties are one of the few bands whose music is MEANT to be a spiritual experience.
The brainchild of Valiant Death logo artist Justin Duerr (author of “Decades of Confusion Feed The
Insect” zine), this album is the best recording of Northern LIberties to date (and I’ve loved this band
since I was 16…) – heavy, heavy rhythms and bass driven melodies yet again set the stage for Justin’s
occult themed lyrics.

This isn’t just good music written about weird stuff, this is a tome of belief, a testament to the ideas
behind what Duerr refers to as “Ghost Mind Electricity” and the foundations for what has only come
to be known as “Ghost Punk”.

Beautiful packaging for this CD – a 6 panel full color digipak and a 8 page lyric booklet, in addition
to the long running time of this 12 track album make this a very worthy investment for anyone seeking
something new and different.

– Bucky Lewis –

Northern Liberties – Ghost Mind Electricity (Philadelphia Weekly, 2007)

dana

Northern Liberties are like a mini goth-punk cottage industry, spanning comps and 7-inches, live EPs and a DVD limited to 23 copies. Their third album Ghost Mind Electricity is a thudding, low-end-heavy journey through sorcery, unborn children, cremation and dead deer made all the more unsettling by the trio’s guitar-less setup and drummer/singer Justin Duerr’s half-detached, half-crazed missives, akin to those of Wilderness’ James Johnson. If there are metal tinges to “Silver Fire,” “Changing” is quiet and even pretty. This may be their best showing yet, but the way to experience Northern Liberties is live, where the crunching and munching of bone is right in your face.

(Doug Wallen) – Philadelphia Weekly

Northern Liberties – Ghost Mind Electricity (The Pagoda Five, 2007)

dana

THE PAGODA FIVE: Best Albums Of 2007, Entries 10-6

9. Northern Liberties – Ghost Mind Electricity (Badmaster) Third album from the Philadelphia trio that discovered the fine line between Joy Division and the Misfits. Recorded at the legendary Inner Ear Studio in Virginia (home of 98% of the Dischord catalog) with its equally revered owner/engineer Don Zientara, its’ the trio’s most accomplished recording yet. (http://www.northernlibertiesband.com – available on CD)