ASTERISC

Emerging in the 2010s, asterisc is a mostly-instrumental fusion of punk, funk, and the harder/weirder edges of jazz. Its core instrumentation is guitars, bass, drums, and assorted brass; it also leans hard on a huge amount of pedal and amp abuse, with musicians quick-changing through long strings of them in songs. There's no particular preference for analogue or digital, only whatever they can get, as much as they can get, and playable in the moment; asterisc groups are heavily focused on the live performance and even on record overdubs and post-manipulation are rare and seen as somewhat antithetical

Asterisc is named after Permanent Asterisk, the near-singular forebears of the genre; there's some room for argument over whether the nascent scene evolved first or whether it was gelled together by zines and blogs talking about the wave of "Asterisk bands." The variant spelling arose from objections to an entire group of artists being labeled under one other band, not least from Permanent Asterisk themselves: bandleader Tal Monda was in fact so displeased as to formally dissolve the band and recycle the name for a solo project making minimalist house [these releases should be listed on Discogs under "Permanent Asterisk (2)"]. Regardless, the compromised name has stuck

The influence of punk on asterisc is much more ethical and aesthetic than it is technically: the musicians are for the most part phenomenally well-drilled, much more so than a fledgling garage punk band might be. The average group might be considered somewhere between the J.B.'s, and the Magic Band recording 'Trout Mask Replica' (although with usually less violence). That's not to say every note is locked down, indeed there is considerable freedom of improvisation as per the influence of bebop, free jazz and fusion; but it becomes apparent with much exposure that what seem like splattered notes or chance squeals of feedback are consciously reproducible on command. Many have commented on the perversity of combining this technical proficiency with blurred layers of reverb, delay and distortion

As per the punk aspect, asterisc groups tend to have strong sociopolitical concerns. Many have also commented on the age-old problem of accurately conveying these politics without lyrics. This ultimately has led to the subgenre of lyrical asterisc, which, exactly as one may infer, is asterisc with a singer. Two further microgenres are progressive asterisc and post-asterisc, both of which are defined by much longer (and often segmented) songs, a wider array of instruments, and more genre blending from outside. They are in a very real sense barely distinguishable from one another. To quote a popular memetic screencapture from social media:

* FIZZYLITTLEBEE: The difference between prog asterisc and post-asterisc is one has keyboards and the other is gay

* HANDGRENADESFORBALLS: No the gay ones have keyboards too

=== NOTABLE RECORDS

PERMANENT ASTERISK: 'Anarchy's Pet Dog'
== Their second LP, edited together from multiple live gigs, and arguably the cornerstone for the bands that would come after them though for clear reasons it cannot be considered 'asterisc' proper (nor would the band be happy to be classed as such). This record also showcases their use of live sample manipulation, showing off the influence of hiphop and plunderphonics that has almost entirely disappeared from asterisc itself

PET WOLVES: 'Sick From The Cold'
== Pet Wolves are to all intents and purposes the founders of asterisc proper, being almost slavishly derivative of Permanent Asterisk at first. The band was even originally called Anarchy's Pet Wolves, referencing both the Permanent Asterisk album and the fact that all four members' fursonas were wolves (they have since added a rabbit). This, their third record, is where they really come into their own with long, trancelike passages: "Humptoy" in particular maintains one riff with such accurate precision for long enough that owners of the vinyl edition often mistook it for a locked groove and were startled when the band moved on

Pet Wolves are to date the only asterisc band to have played at Eartwitch, the alternative furry music festival

KALA KEE: 'Bombed Cities'
== Kee's solo career has long since eclipsed her work with Violynx, although it was originally just an outlet for her to put the saxophone aside and demonstrate her abilities as a singer and rapper whilst elaborating on the scathing social critiques in their album liner notes. Later records, for lack of a better description, adopt a more "pop" sensibility in removing the distortion and effects from her voice itself and also losing the tic of punctuating lyrics with earsplitting shrieks, but both remain core to the sound of her solo debut

This record should not be confused with the sole, eponymous LP by Bombed Landscape

NEEDLEFISH: 'How To Kill Gods'
== Asterisc combined with 20th century composition, gamelan polyrhythms and a considerable amount of screaming and chanting, Needlefish represent the progressive asterisc sound at its most Prog and are occasionally also lumped under the zeuhl umbrella. 'How To Kill Gods' is five long songs excoriating organised religion through a fantastical narrative, which invites a strong love-it-or-hate-it response. For some, 'How To Kill Gods' is an absolute pinacle not only of progressive asterisc but of asterisc in general. More negative comments received include that it: "sounds like you took an asterisc record and threw in a smoothie made of Tales From Topographic Oceans and Music From The Elder"; and that it's "God Of War: the rock opera"

BOYS LOVE BOYS: 'Unmarket'
== On the post-asterisc side, heavily influenced by rhythms as diverse as samba and drum 'n' bass and interpolating minimalist stretches of near-silence, Boys Love Boys (the spelling of which changes from record to record) are also very much in the queercore wing of asterisc and their music has always flaunted camp and effeminacy amidst its at times rather macho climate. Anecdotally, this record was originally called 'Shitpipe' until a representative from their record label suggested it was "somewhat unmarketable." That became the LP's new title for a brief period until the band grew bored of the joke and shortened it to 'Unmarket'

=== OTHER HONOURABLE MENTIONS

SPACEDOE: 'Veteran Arcade'
== Spacedoe are, for the most part, known for atmospheric pop-rock, and more than enough has been written about the band's complicated relationship with commercial success and their own instrumental prowess. Although the incredible microtiming of their popular work is not to be underestimated, their interviews often discuss their much broader taste in music, and countless live recordings exist of them dabbling in more ostentatious arrangements and cover versions. 'Veteran Arcade' is very much another pop-rock LP, but it's noteworthy here for the closing song "Handgrenades For Eyes," which combines their usual sound with lyrical asterisc. It's extremely divisive amongst asterisc fans, between those who see it as a corporate intrusion and those who're interested in hearing such a unique take on the genre

It's something of an open secret that Spacedoe also released...

CRUCIFIED LUCIFER: 'Divine Cannibalism'
== Dressed in elaborate costumes and masks and using grotesque pseudonyms, Crucified Lucifer is a vehicle for Spacedoe to work out their interest in more extreme or challenging music. Self-described as "blackened asterisc," the record is a blend of prog/post-asterisc with extreme metal ranging from thrash to sludge. Unlike "Handgrenades For Eyes" the songs here stick to the principle of pure live takes, with multiple vocalists providing shrieks, screams and growls (everyone except Spacedoe's actual singer, who presumably could not risk both recognisability and devastating his vocal cords for their day job). Despite being fairly well-known who's really behind the LP, it's been well received in the community and has doubtless contributed to the appearance of more metal-influenced bands in turn

KUNGFU COYPU: 'Dessicant - Do Not Eat'
== Kungfu Coypu have a long history of making each album in a completely different style, or fusion of styles. This album is the ostensible sole example of their personal microgenre of 'silica asterisc'. The album is controversial amongst asterisc fans: firstly because of the debate about whether it constitutes a parody or an invasion of their space; and then because it triggered an absurdly sincere community debate about whether it sounded like "They Might Be Giants doing an asterisc record" or "an asterisc band covering They Might Be Giants". Eventually Kungfu Coypu removed it from Bandcamp altogether and no longer play any of its songs live