Nikoo Friends & Family (Beep! Beep! Back Up The Truck)

After their self-titled debut issue being involved in high-voltage noise pop with one very chart potential-related track (You`ve Got A Strange Effect On You) the 5-piece combo from Eindhoven, the Netherlands threw gasoline into the flames and their brand new exclamation is ready to haunt upon new victims. Indeed, the 7-track album yearns for more sonic abundance, approximating to the 80`s huge names like Pixies, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Dinosaur Jr, Catherine Wheel and My Bloody Valentine (however, the shades of Loveless can be detected for as well). Don`t be misunderstood - despite of famous names suggested here the record is a very feature one. Rough yet variable rhythms, at times doo wop-alike vocal shimmers and simple yet straightforwardly hitting call and responses, raunchy, towering exultation-realized guitar feedbacks, and nihilistic electronic-based endings. It sounds like a thunderstorm rolling over you, however, not hurting you (except your ears, of course). In any cases, if your preferations are keen for such contemporary groups like A Place To Bury Strangers, This Lonely Crowd, and Moon Runners, this music is thought for you. However, it is strongly recommended.

Listen to it here

10.0

Children Of Ishizuke Tree Chameleon Straship (Clinical Archives)

In the first place I want to admit that the more I listen to this double LP (in total of 112 minutes) the more I fall in love with it. A duo from Minsk, Belarus, makes a subtle guitar-based dream pop music. If you are keen to draw parallels upon in a big manner, indeed, it sounds as if an equivalent version of post-rock version of Mercury Rev`s Desertoir Songs (1998) at times, altogether being described as ambient rock or atmospheric post-rock. Moreover, a sophomore album by Alexander Haletski and Marina Bartosh incorporates the elements of repetitronica, void-filled ambient/dystopbient/dark ambient, soothing drone wraiths, spoken word tunes and even some distant echoes of the ethnic music from East Asia. Alternatively, it might be a kind of lo-fi music in the midst of ambient shimmerings or a sort of underweighted My Bloody Valentine as well. This is an album through the essential touch!

Listen to it here

9.4

Shattered Darlings and Liquid Kisses Shattered Darlings and Liquid Kisses (Is This Music?)

Shattered Darlings and Liquid Kisses is a combo from Long Island, NY, USA, which is headed by songwriters Matt Richards and Tony Delgado (line-upped by James Johnson, Lillian Richards, and Debbie Hass, and their partly unknown keyboard player). Their debut issue is represented through 20 tracks within 53 minutes full of loaded guitar drives, subtly offered psychedelic synth shreds and solidly elaborated dream-alike vocal arrangements all in all building up dynamic sonic architectonics. If you have been a fan of My Bloody Valentine and the Irish quartet`s ascending guitar layers then their basic approach might be felt into your expectations and visions, though, SDLK does add their suggestive point of view. Moreover, by its loud, psychedelia-soaked and sometimes soothing approach does SDLK`s soundscape hint at the glorious and influential tradition of psych-rockers, dream poppers and power rockers as well. Honestly, it is a very pure rock`n`roll blowup obviously working superb in different situations and at any time out. To complement this experience for I highly recommend listen to SDLK`s EPs as well (In Tangiers; Chick Pop Vocals under Nana`s Records).

Listen to it here

9.6

[Old but important] Delta Waves Under Clouds Over Ground (Earth Monkey Productions)

In the 90`s Burnt Hair Records was cited as one of the most eminent labels in the Michigan-area and the main locomotive kind of to have pushed forward an experimental blend of spaced-out/ambient and drone rock sound along the Detroit underground scene. Indeed, they made out some influences for the future days of experimental rock. For instance, the clients of Larry Hoffman`s label were Windy & Carl, Auburn Lull, and Mahogany among others. The imprint finished off its existence with Delta Waves` release the DELTA WAVES dream in real time (2002). By embarked on in the mid of 90`s Delta Waves is being a band dictated by Greg Naumann, having seen lots changes of line-ups around him. Notwithstanding having been recruited later by other labels (Supple; Clairecords etc) as well Delta Waves seems to be genuinely related to Burnt Hair Records by its ideological perspective and fluctuations, though.

Under Clouds Over Ground, one of my all-time favorite dream pop/shoegaze issues, consists of 4 tracks released under the Earth Monkey Productions in 2005. The then-time line-up by Naumann, Anton Abramov, Ryan Anderson, and Jason Taylor did play up a lot of mesmerizing moments-monumentums, reminiscent by their darkwave-shoegaze crosslined approach of the likes of Lycia (at times Naumann`s murmuring vocal manner has got managed to approximate pretty close to Mike Van Portfleet`s fluids, the second time to circle around Neil Halstead`s emotive timbre). In any cases, this is not an example of such a band at all having somehow imitated the celebrities of the genre, instead diving into vague yet vastly exciting minutiae of sonic alchemy, being touched by minimalism, ambient, hypnotic, hiss-drenched drone, darkwave, shoegaze. All in all, it is used to be a dream-filled transcendence. Let`s repeat it once again just concerning on those otherworldly orchestrations and your heart will be lost for sure.

Listen to it here

[Artists] Jean Dean

Myspace
Lastfm

Jean Dean Steps (Jean Dean)

I have big pleasure and honour to announce the Tallinn-based ensemble Jean Dean released recently their debut single Steps and video for it at their Myspace page. Undoubtedly it is the day single (and obviously for the next days as well) of mine because of creating vast monumentums and evoking lots of nostalgic memories in my head and shaking strongly some of my soul`s inactivated edges and pouring over the imaginary borders, offering a flying platform for to get glidered from the snowy present toward the fairy tale-alike past to be drowned into great parallels applicated to Estonia and the United Kingdom as well. In any cases, Jean Dean is a quartet consisting of musicians known by their previous and parallel independent musical activities in various groups. Kene Vernik (song, guitar), Allan Pilter (guitar, synths, harmonica, electronics), Margit Korbe (synths, backing vocals), and Inga Nõlvak (bass, backing vocals) are intended to create suggestive, dream-filled (not catchy tunes in the first sense, though) soundscapes with crisscrossed guitar lines, velvet-infected noisy indie feedbacks, with lots ups and downs and key changes. If to come back to the above cued reference it reminds of apparently forgotten Estonian band 1983 (having been active in the first half of 90`s) and of course Lush ( their line-up consisted of 3 women and a man as well!), though, Jean Dean is used to be a bit more murky, a bit more dark-hued, more detailly, via mostly Kene Vernik`s lush, velvet-filled timbre. A perfect workout indeed. The nineties are coming back? It seems to be so at least...

Listen to it here

10.0

[Artists] Mon Insomnie

Beko DSL
Bandcamp
Lastfm

Wry Deep Field/Nostalgia (Sinewave)

Previously I have overviewed three eloquent Brazilian shoegaze bands like Inverness, Loomer, and This Lonely Crowd on my blog, though, the next one Wry could be counted as a precedessor for all of them - both by their lineage, temporary precedence, and musical activity as well. Being started out at the ending of 90`s, the quartet have issued a handful of albums, shared the stage with Man Or Astroman?, Mudhoney, Superchunk, Ash, Asobi Seksu, and The Rakes among others, and recruited knob-twiddlers like Tim Wheeler (Ash), and Raphael Gordon (producer of The Strokes). Indeed, in recent years the quartet is used to be an international combo sharing their home between Sao Paolo and the United Kingdom.

Deep Field/Nostalgia does consist of two tracks, though, those track titles are referred a bit the other way. The opening Deep Field Nostalgia is fringed with a pair of elements, shuffling blissful fuzz noise and rigid organ-based drone sounds, respectively. However, the ending part of the number is a sole and distinct appearance of the last admitted element while you can detect for mere sensitivity of the natural environment around it. The second track In The Hell Of My Hell is a remix being layered up of sunbeam-titled synth effects and shimmering dodges of harmonic-filled layers and multiple combinations of breakbeat frequencies altogether conjuring a wraith-alike milieu.

Listen to it here

8.8

Fur Devastate The Details (Mine All Mine)

The US band Fur is back with its sophomore release, and the 6-track offspring does sound rousing and refreshing. Do you guess the quartet is coming from? Of course, from Detroit, from the motor city. And their music is quite comparable with the acceleration and chase of vehicles, and mesmerizing gazing of the go-by of route bollards and grey-green-esque mixed panoramas. Their majestic rock pose is digged deeply into an eloquent incarnation of shoegaze, grunge, post-punk, gothic and alternative rock shades. Overrolling guitar hooks and overdrives do pinball around epic and abrasive area, creating vital pop conceptions, being compiled of the shoegaze-influenced Smashing Pumpkins from the 90`s, the Interpol`s murky pop rock sheen, Joy Division-esque ennui screen, the Lycia-alike overhead hovering sombre shapes, and of course Break Me, My Love having a kind of pattern as if Kurt Cobain has made his feature for the Devastate The Details. However, my very fondness is moulded into title track, with the natural-born-breakbeat-paid-for rhythm section, penetrating riffs, and atmospheric synths, being wrapped in by a lot of key changes; and Houston played out via the meeting of a bittersweet verse-chorus and shape-changing guitar appearances. The rock music in its honesty.

Listen to it here

9.1

[Artists] Inverness

Inverness
Jamendo
Myspace
Lastfm

[Artists] FUR

FUR
Mine All Mine
Myspace

Black Tambourine black tambourine cassette (Bandcamp)

There were quite messy times about the musical situation in the Foggy Albion during the 80`s when indie music had intensely searched for its very own identity. Of course, the solid premisses were up there having been moulded via the post-punk/proto-indie blowouts, and The Smiths made its succesful enterings into top charts. To be set up into the broader meaning of a then-time occurence chain, it was appropriate time when underground music identified itself through the cassette culture movement as well. In any cases, the tape-based C86 compilation was the most influental appearance showcasing a wide and vital array of twee pop and jangle pop ensembles at the time, some of which later evolved into alternative dance/baggy form (for instance, The Soup Dragons, and Primal Scream), and some musicians (Tim Gane) abandoned/cancelled his previous band (McCarthy), replacing it with obvious purpose toward innovative pop frontiers with a new type of formations (Stereolab) to be reached off.

The aforementioned situation by the US-side was strongly reverberated by the label Slumberland, which the most golden rabbits were/are The Lilies, Hood, and Black Tambourine. The last named one was consisted of the members of Whorl, and Velocity Girl, having crossovered twee, noise pop, and shoegaze (though a bit less visible angle) elements with each other. More concretely, Black Tambourine might be imagined as a bastard of Jesus & The Mary Chain, Lush and Talulah Gosh. A great bastard, yet, having stuck in catchy, joyous, and delightful warbles.

On this compilation, 4 solid tracks/re-mixes made by Don Zientara after the mastertape of original mixes were stolen from a car are proudly represented here. The differences between original mixes and new mixes are apparently subtle in principle - doubled vocals on Can't Explain and For Ex-Lovers Only, a long feedback ending to Throw Aggi Off The Bridge, different effects & treatments (reverb, reverb, reverb) all around. The vocals are somehow buried even deeper, and the guitars sound louder. Undoubtedly a hidden pop music chapter lighted up nowadays.

Listen to it here

9.0

aboombong amnemonic (Bandcamp)

First off, it is quite hard task to figure out in which way should aboombong`s new album/third album in turn be classified up to. However, it is a creatively destructive blend of diverse styles in the middle of it the prefix "post" is set up. Yet, JC Thorne`s music, even when you are used to be familiar with different sorts of musical genres, but despite of some closeness it sounds like the science fiction in real time. JC Thorne is a resident from Seattle, who has played in a dozens of ensembles during last three decades, though, it is very little known something about him. In the same way, some analogy can be drawn with Swedish krautrock/space rock/experimental rock outstanders Joxfield ProjeX, which is obviously curated by the two 60-years-old men.

The opening Cheshiahud Loop sounds like a smog-buried and neurotically repeating Holy Fuck. From Cracked and bloodied Fingers deepens further to increase the smog consistency while shoegaze and space rock frames do catch fire and begin to melt and seemingly slide away. More concretely, over 10 minutes of pure ecstasy can be discovered from here. Cromsby Grovernor Worthington's Jujujaiponmolam is played out through a very wide range of musical instruments (including shitloads of ethnic music drums and bells), yet, the very result is based upon a ticking loop of a hypnotic guitar gear in space rock/krautrock regime. 18-minutes of elemental enchantment, which could easily be considered the 21st century Hallelujah (CAN`s Tago Mago), or Krautrock (Faust`s IV). The epic alchemy, the way how to come over to my opinion essentially. Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, & Wang Hongwen in Dahomey does acquire monstrous dimensions via demolishing drums and scratching guitars while retaining its majestic façade. The anxiety and anger on the track could almost cut with a knife. The album will be stopped off after Noon which is billowy/expanding/spasmic ambient drone metallic refuse, thereafter the whole can be summed up as a monster hovering above everywhere. This is a kind of eclipse of the sun, played up with an experienced know-how and outrageous energy swoop. In fact, one of the most astonishing releases of 2010, for sure. Enjoy and take care of it.

Listen to it here

10.0

[Compilation] Beko DSL Beko_Fla (Beko DSL)

In fact, there is not much time passed by when I reviewed Bekos DSL`s compilation box_3 being dedicated to witch house/drag/haunted house/screwgaze/crunk shoegaze. It is another compilation, however, also subnamed as A Beko/Free Loving Anarchists Collab concerning profoundly on shoegaze, lo-fi, fuzz pop, dream pop, and post punk-influenced sound from one area/scene (Houston, Texas). Indeed, this miscellany can be dealt with as a fine indie stuff for nowadays people being seriously annoyed by the mediocrity and unvariedness of ordinary music examples. 8 tracks by projects like Rape Faction, Lois Magic, Pink Playground, Young Henry, The KVB, Virgo Rising, Wicked Crafts, Sacred Place do draft solid harmonies and catchy pace notches. The favorite numbers of mine are The KVB`s Into The Night which is an experimental drive on the level of DIY via pulsating trance-alike synth drones, and Joy Division-esque coolness; and Virgo Rising`s To Deal Without It based upon reminiscence of a track by My Bloody Valentine (find it yourself out, I guess) through a memorable synth repetition and spaced-out milieu.

Listen to it here

The Arctic Flow Club 7 003 (Club 7)

Supposedly everyone who is got deeply digged into the discography of the Holiday Records is not surprised at all to hear about such a name as the Arctic Flow, behind it is Brian Hancheck, a profilic musician from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Approximately a half year ago he released a pair of singles under Beko DSL as well. However, now it is proper time for another single label Club 7. Hancheck`s soundscape is profoundly dreamy and floating, consisting mainly of subtle indie pop numbers with certain shoegaze influences. On the other way, it could be described as shoegaze music without massive touch of abrasive guitars and psychedelic entering into a chaotic inner world, instead of it used to be reserved for nicely suffusing guitar chords driving over the middle layers of the sound. Though, it can be sounded psychedelic as well. First of all, if you are in to dedicate your time to such British indie luminaries as Slowdive, Ride, and Chapterhouse (especially the last named one) or have listened to music released under the label Slumberland, this release of 2 tracks (Sentiments and Artifacts; King of the Flood) is thought for you.

Listen to it here

8.9

This Lonely Crowd Entangled Chaos (Velvet Blue)

Hooray! Tweedledum, Tweedledee, Humpty Dumpty, Red Queen, and Jabberwock are proudly back. The expectations toward their sophomore release are really high because of their debut album An Endless Moment Eveyday All the Time (2010, Sinewave) being madly energic and artistic through shoegaze- and post-grunge guitars, reminiscent of vocally Billy Corgan`s manner from Smashing Pumpkins. A salient mix of dream pop and power pop.

A new release, new coverprint, new direction, new measures. First of all, Humpty Dumpty don`t search anymore for Corgan-esque abrasiveness in his vocal manner, feeling more soft, murmuring, and dreamy - and often doing it in the cooperation with Red Queen. In fact, the vocal part is diminished, too, and the sound is properly arranged - without the dominance of chaos-driveness, the collapses of mayhems, crazily intense key changes, and driving-in and driving-off effects. Instead of powerful guitars there are rather airy guitars to be represented in consisting of dreamy even lethargic soundscapes, which subtle movement is sometimes "disturbed" by massive brown noise-alike exorced keys of guitars throwing up elemental hooks of the AEMEATT. Yet once time, in comparison with the first album the song structures are more transparent and predictable, thereby being a bit less attractive, though. In conjuction with it the release seems to be too short (4 tracks) also for playing out their transboundary conception in the complete way. But by measured on the absolute scale, it is a solid work, though. And the quintet`s coverprints are still one of the best, too, conveying the spirit of golden age shoegaze music to this day. An eye is resting while watching it.

Listen to it here

8.8

The Papertiger Sound Everything Matters (Auteur Recordings)

Dan Gelder ja Kerstin Wilson (aka Ker) on naasnud neljaloolise EP`ga. Nagu ikka, teevad nad sulnist popmuusikat, milles kõnelevad sulnid üleminekud, orgaanilised progressioonid pluss värviküllane erksus. Avalugu Atlas üllatab viiulikäiguga, instrumendiga, mida varem nende loomingus kohanud ei ole. Slowdivelikult strummivad ning õrna overdrive`iga rulluvad kitarrid on juba varasemast tuttav element. Can`t see why on link shoegaze`i ja New Order`i vahel, võttes jalad tatsuma ning viies indie-muusika kuldpäevi meenutama. Lõpulugu we`re modern recordists on atmosfääriline heiastus, kus pulbitseva hillitsetuse tagant näib kohe-kohe shoegaze-sein lahti pääsevat. Ometi seda ei juhtu, ning see ei pruugi ka halb olla. Igatahes see töötab. Kuid paradoksaalsel kombel ei jää nimilugu millegi poolest kõrva. Või tuleks ka edaspidi reliisid tiiteldada eeldatavalt nõrgima träki järgi, et kuidagigi sellele positiivset valgust heita?

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9.0

Friends Demos (Bandcamp)

Jaapani trio teeb laupäevaõhtusse ideaalselt sobituvat popmuusikat. Valguseküllaselt strummivat-strammivat kitarrisaundi, mis on üle igasugu haipidest, mukkahvidest ning grotesksetest poppjobudest, eemal suurte ajakirjade ja webzine`ide fookusest. Aus muusika, noh. Nende ideoloogiline alge näib pärinevat 80ndate jangle pop`ist ning blonde hair indie`st, millele lisatakse natuke juurde dream pop`i (ning ehk ka shoegaze`i) esteetikat. Hoogne, samas sametiselt hägune naisvokaal ja üledraivivad psühhedeelsed klahvkaliinid teevad sellest tõelise maiuspala. Vana kooli indie-asi on igihaljas. Unustad enese ega suudagi aru saada, mitmes ring minemas on. Vist 20nes juba. Sõltuvust tekitav. Ja 4 lugu ning 9 minutit kõigest. We`ll Never Stay Together oma õhkamistes ja unistuslikes käikudes lausa käristab hinge ning lõpulugu Saturday (alles nüüd avastasin pealkirja!) on üks selle aasta träkke-käkke. Äkki peakski kogu kupatuse demokvaliteeti jätma? Näib hetkel peaaegu võimatuna, et "krohvimisega" võiks esteetilist naudingut kuidagi suurendada.

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9.8

Loomer Coward Soul (Sinewave)

Brasiiliast Porto Alegre`st pärit nelik ringutab ja sirutab, näidates uuel albumil muskulatuuri. Nende aastatagune debüütalbum "Mind Drops" (Little Room) oli lihtsalt kena üritus, seesugune, mis tagantjärele meenub üksnes märgi mahapanemise tõigana. Kuid nüüd nad kuuluvad plaadifirma Sinewave hõlma alla ning see peegeldab ennekõike märki kvaliteedi tõusust.

Nagu bändi nimigi vihjab, on nende ristiisaks My Bloody Valentine. (Austraalias on teinegi samanimeline shoegaze-rühmitus). Kuigi "Loveless"-i 5-loolisel eriti ei märka, on seda enam "Isn`t Anything"-i mõjud esil. (Kuid igasugu tribuudist on asi siiski kaugel). Küllap tajute ka Slowdive`i, Swervedriver`i, Smashing Pumpkins`i, aga ka 94. aasta Bizarre`i jalajälgi. Vastandid on kokku kuhjatud - kriipivad ja huilgavad kitarrid, kõrvetavad feedback`i servad, massiivsed ja lainetena valguvad trummiliinid, mees- ja naisvokaali õhuline unisoon ning eraldatus. Võrreldes debüütreliisiga on grunge`likku segmenti masterdatud ning tühja, atmosfäärilist hõngu süstivat ruumi (kuuldavate) struktuuride ümber kuhjatud. Küte otsa ei saa, seda valgub juurde ja peale. Superlood on Coward ja Super Fuzz (muljetavaldav shoegaze`i ja grunge`i puhastustuli). Ilmselt juba kolmas album Sinewave`ilt minu selle aasta top 50-s (This Lonely Crowd`i ja Hangin Freud`i üllitiste kõrvale). Leegitseb, raisk!

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9.4

[Artistid] Loomer

Sinewave
Little Room Records
Midsummer Madness
Myspace