Jiony - Waiting For The Sun EP (2012)

Bad Panda

Soundcloud
Lastfm

9.1

/Chilltronica, Lo-fi, Ethnotronica, Organic electronica, Crossover, Exotica pop, DIY, Poptronica, Downbeat, Electronic pop/

Comment: Jiony is a musician/producer/disc jockey from Mexico City, Mexico providing a set of 3 pieces which is an organic, sample-based amalgamation of lo-fi/DIY-tinged electronic explorations, ethnic acoustic-based appearances, lush harmonies and suggestive, a tiny bit downbeaten rhythmic propulsions below it. Additionally I recommend to listen to Jiony`s edit remix of Portishead`s Roads either. In a word, it is chill.

Indian Wells - Night Drops (2012)

Bad Panda

Bandcamp

Lastfm

9.2

/Alternative, Indietronica, Electronic pop, Epic, Downtempo, Leftfield, Chilltronica, Glo-fi, Chill out/

Comment: the Italy-based Indian Wells is a synth-relied artist who loves sophisticated yet somehow soothing rhythm patterns mixed up with stepwise ascending ethereal motives and glacial whiffs. Nevertheless, the music seems to be an instrumental and quite anonymous one therefore allowing for the listener to find out her/his own corner somewhere. Of course, there are some moments where Indian Wells stands for more brooding sounds and incisive bits. In addition to it there are up some snippets revealing the artist`s  fondness for tennis game as similarly as its name hints at it.

The Underscore Orkestra - Balancing Act (2012)

Bad Panda
Lastfm

9.0

/Vaudeville, Swing, Music hall/

Comment: an amusing, one-track appearance reminding of the heydays of vaudevillean, highly swinging pop. Indeed, it used to be a quite authentic representation of it. It involves an array of tempo changes (from very slow to very fast moments) and harmonica-laden chirps which play on a suggestive motif. The notch is sung by female and male voices, thereby creating a lot of pleasant contrasts between the different sides of the piece. The track can be considered an example of a simulacra, yet, it is not because it is very good, i.e being without any deviations.

Falcon Lake - Drown EP (2012)

Bad Panda

9.2

/Art pop, Glo-fi, Chillwave, Post-pop, Avant-pop, Post-psychedelic electronica, Experimental indie, Exotica pop, Crossover/

Comment: there is a set of 4 songs by Leon Piers, a Bristolian musician who used to fuse exotica pop elements with glo-fi/chillwave tendencies. The compositions are mostly instrumental ones just exploiting repetitive phrases-vocal loops. Beauty meets proficiency, the past meets the present. The project can be compared with Monster Rally who also likes to blend 60`s exotica pop with the slabs of contemporary hypnagogic pop.

Flamingo - Superpalm (2011)

Bad Panda
Lastfm

9.1

/Electronic pop, Glo-fi, Chillwave, Lo-fi, Ambient techno, Hypnagogic pop, Avant-pop/

Comment: Flamingo is a producer from Rome, Italy offering up an uplifting mix of ambient techno/kosmische chill-out electronica and chillwave-ish indie pop. The 5-track EP starts out with the self-titled track which gets very near to the Orb-esque beatific ambient techno contemplation a la Toxygene (from within the album Orblivion, 1997, Island Records) and the last track Bat Country will do it in the similar manner either. The other tracks in-between are more contemplative in their blissed-out frames and retrodelic hypnagogic gyration (reminding of the 80`s fusion-loaded synth/electro rock bands, and contemporary acts like Ariel Pink, and Eureka Brown), and primitive lo-fi sequences. Ultimately, it is a pleasant listening.

Silent Strikes - 27/Infinit (2011)

Bad Panda

9.0

/Post-rock, Downtempo, Crososver, Organic electronica/

Comment: Silent Strike is a combo from Bucharest, Romania conveying to us just a pair of notches - 27, and Infinit, respectively. It is a silentful ride along the paths of downtempo, post-rock, balmily buzzing synths, and providing a little glacial ambience strewed over the structures of picturesque scaffolds. However, Silent Strikes` kindred souls extend from Sigur Ros, and Mank to Orange Crush, and aAirial.

Green Like July – Two cover songs by Green Like July (2011)

Bad Panda

8.8

/Cover, Alt-country, Southern rock/

Comment: just 2 cover songs are uploaded there. Crippled Inside (John Lennon), and September Gurls (Big Star). The last of these notches is the big preference of mine. While the trio comes from Italy their ideological standpoint seems to be closely related to the US-based root and southern pop/rock. In conclusion, slightly psychedelic organ-afforded country songs make huge impression on the listener.

Memotone – Bad Panda EP (2011)

Bad Panda
Free Music Archive
Lastfm

9.2

/Post-rock, Organic electronica, Experimental electronica, Art pop, Crossover, Sampledelic, Post-psychedelic, Experimental indie/

Comment: this 4-track EP offers a smorgasboard of synthesized breaks, colourful whiffs and instantaneous awakenings arching broadly over it (made up of chiming synths, piano snippets and circinately clanking xylophones). Recommended for fans of DJ Shadow, Four Tet, and Mice Parade. Music is made by William Yates, a solo perfomer/multi-instrumentalist from England being active since the mid of 00`s.

Possimiste - Behind The Seas (2011)

Bad Panda
Possimiste
Lastfm

9.4

/New Weird Estonia, Experimental indie, Folk indie, Art pop, Singer-songwriter, Post-folk, Dream folk, Baroque pop, Chamber folk, Indie folk, Folktronica/

Comment: For sure, I feel myself really enthralled and inspired, firstly, because the single used to be far away from a dead-end one, and secondly, it comes from Estonia, the home country of mine. Behind this project is a young lady, however, who used to make out great pop dizziness (visit her blog/and other sites for checking out for other contents). In a more concrete way, her fourth single consists of loping rhythms embellished with the orchestrated wispiness, soothing harmonica-based whiffs, xylophonic clatter, angelic yet galvanized vowel harmonies, and exhilarating progressions and transmissions from one point to another level. However, she continues a charismatic and innovative (and absolutely decorous) musical tradition of nowadays Estonian music prospered for the last 3-4 years (Maria Minerva, Kadi Uibo, Iiris, Talbot, Mirabilia, Ewert & The Dragons, Music For Your Plants, Tolmunud Mesipuu, Kreatiivmootor, Imandra Lake, Tallinn Daggers etc). An instance of nowadays grrrl riot/girl power for sure.

Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles – Brick City Ghosts (2011)

Bad Panda

8.9

/Minimal, Chamber rock, Post-rock, Experimental rock, Crossover, Avant-rock, Epic, Modern classical/

Comment: Minimally bleak/ or chamber-drenched/electro-acoustic/treated electronic-relied soundscapes are variegated with (or without) lone piano-driven modern classical tunes which at times are pulled off into potently brooding rock snippets. Indeed, as so plain to the kind of classically channelized post-rock, it shows up its inclination and readiness for getting drift between silentfully and powerfully chiming pieces, having some fluctuant layers into epic progressions. Thereby it makes out as a juncture area compiled of the oeuvres of Godspeed You! Black Emperor (those pitched violins at times!), and Bosques de mi Mente, for instance. The band which comes from New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, has dedicated this album to all of the ghosts they left behind. Beautiful.

Venice - Animals, Stars & Other Psychedelic Creatures (2011)

Bad Panda
Lastfm

9.6

/Avant-garde, Avant-pop, No Wave, Post-rock, Post-psychedelic electronica, Electronic, Krautrock, Avant-rock, Experimental rock, Psychedelic/

Comment: The Rome-based Venice`s album kicks off as a kind of vanguard-ish tribal sound (Faust`s proto-industrial hypnotism) which step by step is getting evolve into...ehh...vanguard-ish tribal sound. A way too tautological, isn`t it? Indeed, but it so bloody cool. However, the second track makes some turns rightward (or is it leftward actually?), incorporating the elements from the vibraphone-centered post-rock a la the early Mice Parade and The Dylan Group and some full railing atmospheric layers of Kosmische Musik. It is almost undescribable how soft and subtle it used to be chiming throughout the course. The third track continues principially in the same vein, though, turning its focus more upon bouncy yet cutting edge paces, however, reminiscent of No Wave-drenched ones and besides it adding some treated guitar effects either. No doubt, a superb issue.

Lockerbie – Laut / Snjóljón (2011)

Bad Panda
Lastfm

8.9

/Post-rock, Epic, Soft rock, Chamber pop, Baroque pop, Ambient rock, Alternative pop, Pomp pop, Experimental indie, Ambient rock/

Comment: Following the appreciated traditions of icelandic songwriting and innovative section of the Scandinavian pop manners (Under Byen, Sondre Lerche, Jens Lekman), this 4-track mini album is a successful effort of grandeur pop hooks and epic sensibility, as a final result having found out a balanced stand of pomp postures and whimsical pop moments. No doubt, the shadow of Sigur Ros is used to strongly hover over it. Yet, I feel I am able to love Lockerbie much more.

Southern Shores Grande Comore / Mauna Loa (BadPanda)

Southern Shores is a duo from Halifax (the same city, the hockey star Sidney Crosby comes from), Canada while residing in Europe (Berlin, Germany) now. Their 2-track single at BadPanda Records is overtly opened for different stylistic interpretations and point of views, on the first place beavering away at subtle glo-fi (yet not being hypnagogic pop on its own) and poptronic moods being compared to Air France and Washed Out, on the other side it could be viewed through lush, synth-relied baroque pop and chamber pop and tropicalia pop workout expressions as well. In a more detailed way, it is full of warbling vocal-based hitches and high-voltage-loaded brass orchestrations wrapped up by seething synthezised paces. Partly because of having obvious references to different places around the world (Grande Comore is an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa; Mauna Loa is a Hawaiaan volcano) it can be considered as a soundtrack of voyage music as well. All in all, undoubtedly this kind of sonic mould does represent nowadays pop essence still waiting for the highest chart tops to be conquered once in the future.

Listen to it here

9.8

[Artistid] Taiga Blues

Taiga Blues
Myspace
Lastfm