While I could spend time on this record, I’m thinking about what Chris Brokaw (Come, Codeine) has gone on record saying, that this is some of the best music Thalia Zedek has ever recorded. I’ve always been a staunch Come fan so I’d have to disagree. But Via (Dromedary Records), an early band by both guitarists Zedek and Jerry di Rienzo (Cell), originally recorded these songs back in 1987, along with J.A. on bass, drummer Adam Gaynor, and Phil Milstein. While I’ve listened to Zedek’s previous works in Uzi and Live Skull (releases lost in the fire that was my early life), Via does stand out through just six songs. Hints of the blues permeate through “JJ” as the dual guitars sputter in, but then find the rhythm they’re able to sink their teeth in as Zedek allows her voice, swelling in reverb, to linger around the song’s atmosphere. The song itself is loose and inviting, nothing is forced, yet everything seems so delicately pieced together. But it’s the driving force of “1,000 MPH” that fascinates me. The wall of guitars seems almost out of tune, although you realize this is purposeful and deliberate as they seemingly offer dissonance without being dissonant. Post-punk at its best and as soon as it starts, it quickly ends. The band was sometimes experimental here, and listening to “Way You Say You Feel” holds much credence. The band raucously clashes against one another before upending the track, creating an unearthly structure but with an underlying melody.

FACTOR CHANDELIER – AS DARK AS TODAY

As we close in on the end of the year, everything is wrapped up neatly in pretty packages without any semblance of real depth. The holidays bring out the petrified smiles and false niceties people are fearful of showing throughout the rest of the year. Everything is bland, and new music is replaced by Christmas standards that put everyone in a repetitive motion, consuming lattes while shopping for everything you don’t need. But this isn’t really about the holiday,s but something much more vital and robust.

Canada’s own Factor Chandelier returns with a new full-length release, As Dark As Today (Fake Four Inc.). With well over fifty full-length releases to his credit, either solo or collaborative, Factor continues to ride the wave of his sonic sculptures. The new release follows 2023’s Cold, Cold World, but he hasn’t been sitting on his laurels, producing material for a variety of artists. But as usual, I digress. We’re here to talk about the 12 tracks on As Dark As Today, an instrumental release that doesn’t take a well-worn path; instead, Factor keeps his wide-eyed vision expansive, moving in varying directions. What stands apart from the rest is probably “Lose Our Way” with a voice singing over its loose free-jazz like drumming & percussion. Halfway through, the song moves a different way as the song drifts away and then enters again with gentle guitar notes, subtle vocal backdrops, and rhythmic percussion. I keep reflecting back on this one, two pieces of a puzzle, at just over a minute. But the release seems to be as cloudy as the album title suggests, as it opens with “Apollo Five,” a dreary and somber composition that comes across cold but not calculated. It flows with a repetitive bassline that lingers over an energetic rhythm, and imagining hands flowing all across a drum set isn’t far removed. It’s cold but concise, along with the underlying keyboard that keeps the flow steady. While “Leave The City” might have the same emotional tactfulness, it seems there’s so much more to sink your teeth into. Its thick bassline is meaty, and the percussion seems to fill in as its base flavoring while the repeated vocals add coloring. But it’s when the guitars enter the fray that’s when you know you have a complete meal in front of you, bursting with distortion while also capitalizing on the melody of the song. Seems different but completely fulfilling.

Factor gives us just enough to enjoy, never allowing a song to drag on and out. It’s like that with “Don’t Bother Me” as looped guitar samples hold onto your attention from start to finish over an infectious rhythm at just over two and a half minutes. Every time I’ve listened to this though, I always seem to circle back to “Four Fifteen Pt. 2 Don’t Give Up.” The bouncy rhythm is what has me coming around again and again, and the repeated lyrics, “Don’t give up, don’t give up, baby,” have me singing along with it. I won’t front, though. I did go searching for a ‘Pt. 1’ but who knows if it actually exists. The rhythm here is fun, and its energy seems unmatched. Songs vary throughout As Dark As Today as “A Thousand Wrongs” moves back into that same subtle somberness found earlier in the album. The shadowy tones of guitars, coupled with female vocals rallying around it, seem to wallow in a sweet despair. It’s not the only thing Factor focuses on here because his sound moves into directions I’m always fascinated with. A number of tracks here, like “Never The Same Again” and even “Too Soon,” you can imagine filling in the backdrop of movie soundtracks. But referencing films with the likes of Richard Roundtree, Fred Williamson, Ron O’Neal, or Pam Grier. Yeah, these would be fitting.

While Factor Chandelier may stay busy with his production & engineering work, he’s found time to release this new album filled with drama and emotion. The love of the art is still apparent with every track on As Dark As Today.