Various Artists - Not the Spaces You Know, But Between Them Review

Quick: How many record labels can you name? Unless you work inside certain sects of the music industry, the answer, at most, is likely a couple dozen. Yet the number of working imprints in the world-- from the biggest corporate conglomerates to the upstarts young bands craft only so they can have a logo to put on the back of whatever they issue-- is incalculable because it's ever-changing. That is, running a record label is a risky business plan, where one mistake about the number of units you might move can torpedo the entire operation, where technological sea changes can wash the need for you and your product away. Labels, then, tend to memorialize every few years, commemorating every anniversary with a limited-edition box set, a spree of concerts, or an appreciative giveaway. However deserved it may be, this is self-congratulations of the purest sort, a proud proclamation that the brand has yet again made it to some arbitrary finish line.

To that end, Three Lobed Recordings' Not the Spaces You Know, But Between Them is a different kind of birthday set. Meant to mark the 10th anniversary of the tiny North Carolina outsider music label, the collection subverts the usual order of such pieces, serving more as a celebration of the participating bands than the presenting brand. The packaging-- a hard paper box containing four LPs and liner notes, all designed by the instantly recognizable Portland, Ore., poster artist Casey Burns-- hardly mentions the anniversary. In fact, the label's name takes a smaller font than not only the bands included, like Sonic Youth and Sun City Girls, but also Burns himself. Inside, during an interview with Pitchfork contributor Marc Masters, label owner Cory Rayborn doesn't talk much about his happenstance journey into owning a label (he started it to release one Bardo Pond 10") or the stylistic confines of Three Lobed (from broken folk to pan-everything psychedelic explorations, there have been none). Rather, he spills his words about the acts involved, calling Steve Gunn "transformational," suggesting Johnny Cash would have covered Wooden Wand, and labeling Mouthus as "true auteurs." At least half of Rayborn's own short essay is spent thanking friends and expressing dismay that this is happening. Not the Spaces You Know, But Between Them is less a Three Lobed trademark proclamation than an earnest and excellent offering from one of America's best little labels.

Most commemorative compilations like this simply stack a bunch of tracks from catalog artists side-by-side, reprising both the accomplishments of the label in question and offering a few selected gems that either never made it onto a release or have long been out-of-print. But Spaces smartly gives full LP sides to seven bands, essentially affording each act the opportunity to create an EP that's simply part of something bigger. None of this material has ever been released. Considered on its own terms, each contribution from each band is stunning, most often as a summary of what they've done best. Mouthus' two sprawls, for instance, are violent churns of sound, splitting the unexpected distance between industrial music, power electronics, IDM and singer-songwriter fare. A 21-minute, relatively seamless collage of Comets on Fire rehearsals reminds that they’re one of the most ferocious bands of last decade’s psych revival. "The Invisible Fire" is one of Bardo Pond's customarily immersive zones, with guitar riffs, electronic whirs, and the alternating flute and contorted moans of Isobel Sollenberger forming a sheet of sound as thick as smoke from a woodland wildfire. And the three live cuts from Sun City Girls, recorded in 2004 at the band's last American show, vividly capture the group's range-- their guitar bravado and brilliance; their mix of country, jazz, rock and Middle Eastern music; their almost-alien intercommunication; their humor; their interesting songs; their interest in exploring those songs' edges through improvisation....full text Not The Spaces You Know, But Between Them is a 4xLP box set featuring full sides of previously unreleased and new material from: Sonic Youth, Sun City Girls, Bardo Pond, Comets on Fire, Eternal Tapestry, Steve Gunn, Mouthus, D. Charles Speer & the Helix (one half of a side) and Wooden Wand (one half of a side).

Befitting of such an intense musical collection, Not The Spaces You Know, But Between Them will be a pretty lush package. The whole thing will start with a plush, heavy Stoughton lid box which will be filled with: (1) four vinyl albums pressed on 140gram Dutch vinyl; (2) four different printed inner sleeves each bearing different artwork; (3) a big foldover insert with an extensive liner note essay from Marc Masters (The Wire, Pitchfork); (4) audio mastering by Patrick Klem (with Scott Colburn having mastered the Sun City Girls side) and (5) a download card for MP3s of the set.

Early in 2000, Three Lobed Recordings was born out of the notion that there needed to be a 10” EP included within Bardo Pond’s discography. Late in 2009, with the label’s looming tenth anniversary on the horizon, the label decided that it was time to take the curatorial enjoyment that resulted in its three multi-disc subscription CD series (Purposeful Availment, Modern Containment and Oscillation III) and transfer that spirit over to the vinyl format. Rather than do this as a series, Three Lobed decided it would be a lot more fun, efficient, and economical to put the project out as a one-shot box set. From that notion came the dream-team lineup of artists who were also interested in helping assemble this project - Sonic Youth, Sun City Girls, Bardo Pond, Comets on Fire, Eternal Tapestry, Steve Gunn, Mouthus, D. Charles Speer & the Helix and Wooden Wand.

Think back to the wonder the first time you were sucked into the epic sprawl of such seminal collections as Harmony Of The Spheres and By The Fruits You Shall Know The Roots. It’s been several years since one of these time capsules has been created to document the various phases, shapes and sizes of the modern underground psychedelic scene - this box is intended to help fill that void. Much like how various label predecessors have shaped their epic compilations into lovingly assembled and presented artifacts, the Three Lobed vision of Not The Spaces You Know, But Between Them is bold and brash. Three Lobed wants this set to both stand as the single coolest title within the label’s catalog and to also be a device to help introduce some new listeners to the various ways psychedelic music is presented in 2011....full text An incredibly well put together compilation 4LP Box: Featuring full sides of previously unreleased and new material from: Sonic Youth, Sun City Girls, Bardo Pond, Comets on Fire, Eternal Tapestry, Steve Gunn, Mouthus, D. Charles Speer & the Helix (one half of a side) and Wooden Wand (one half of a side).

Early in 2000, Three Lobed Recordings was born out of the notion that there needed to be a 10" EP included within Bardo Pond's discography. Late in 2009, with the label's looming tenth anniversary on the horizon, the label decided that it was time to take the curatorial enjoyment that resulted in its three multi-disc subscription CD series (Purposeful Availment, Modern Containment and Oscillation III) and transfer that spirit over to the vinyl format. Rather than do this as a series, Three Lobed decided it would be a lot more fun, efficient, and economical to put the project out as a one-shot box set. From that notion came the dream-team lineup of artists who were also interested in helping assemble this project - Sonic Youth, Sun City Girls, Bardo Pond, Comets on Fire, Eternal Tapestry, Steve Gunn, Mouthus, D. Charles Speer & the Helix and Wooden Wand.

Think back to the wonder the first time you were sucked into the epic sprawl of such seminal collections as 'Harmony Of The Spheres' and 'By The Fruits You Shall Know The Roots'. It's been several years since one of these time capsules has been created to document the various phases, shapes and sizes of the modern underground psychedelic scene - this box is intended to help fill that void. Much like how various label predecessors have shaped their epic compilations into lovingly assembled and presented artifacts, the Three Lobed vision of 'Not The Spaces You Know, But Between Them' is bold and brash. Three Lobed wants this set to both stand as the single coolest title within the label’s catalog and to also be a device to help introduce some new listeners to the various ways psychedelic music is presented in 2011. Each artist’s contribution to this set stands alongside the best that artist has previously placed within their respective discographies, almost as if each artist is trying to set the bar even higher for their fellow contributors to the set.

This set pretty much as it all - from newly composed and well honed tracks (like Steve Gunn’s contribution, “The Lurker (Extended)”), historically important recordings (the entire Sun City Girls side presents a glimpse of the band’s final show in the United States) all the way to how-the-hell-has-this-been-hidden-for-the-world-for-so-long gems (such as Sonic Youth’s “Out & In” which was recorded in 2000 with Jim O’Rourke). Sticking with the collection’s title, Three Lobed is rather confident that the musical threads that run through all of these contributions are strong and natural – folks who are interested in one or two of the contributors should be enthralled by the work that surrounds those tracks. Befitting of such an intense musical collection, 'Not The Spaces You Know, But Between Them' will be a pretty lush package....full text