Paper Plane Pilot - This Afternoon (2012)

Paper Plane Pilot
Lastfm

9.3

/Alternative pop/rock, Post-punk, New Wave, Gothic rock/

Comment: this is a synth-driven/orchestrated single produced by Dustin Frelich (voc, keyb, g, dr), Eugenio Iglesias (b), and Bryarly Bishop (voc). Though the notch is produced recently it partly harks back to the 70`s British gothic/post-punk tradition. Indeed, those solemn, slightly glowing synth whiffs, guitar shapes and Frelich`s resigned singing manner make difference. In a word, the single is masterfully accentuated and dosed.

(exitpost) - Lake Monster (2012)

Bandcamp

9.2

/Dream pop, New Weird America, Experimental indie, Avant-pop, Chillwave, Alternative, Glo-fi, Avant-pop, Post-pop/

Comment: (exitpost) is an one-man-project led by Ken Herman, who takes care of lush guitar strums, exulting Animal Collective-tinged vocals and electronic devices and manipulations behind it. You can be sure these 200 seconds are filled in with pure beauty which consist partly of dreams and partly of propulsive experimental aesthetics. More concretely, Herman shifts between realms belonging on the way to New Weird America/free folk/weird folk and on the other side it is a case of the chillwave/glo-fi movement.

Mr. Dee & Ms. Dee - Rain EP (2011)

Bump Foot

9.2

/Techno, Club dance, Deep techno, Remixes/

Comment: a single accomplished with a pair of remixes. Gloomy, glacial glow-alike techno music which, on the other side, provides a bouncy, crispy feeling. While it sounds almost like an instance of the vibes of dance club-centered deep techno it outreaches the boundaries of it due to dystopic seeds within it.

AFFEN - Like Life Easily Ended (2011)

BFW Recordings
Lastfm

9.2

/Alternative pop/rock, Soft rock, Pomp rock/

Comment: AFFEN does mean Anatomy For Fabulous Emergency Noise and is a quintet from Bandung, Indonesia, an Asian country so well-known due to its outstanding indie scene. Their 4-minute single can only be described in positive way. Indeed, they deserve their name partly - Next to embraced Coldplay aesthetics (mellow, dreamy singing manner, shadowed guitar chords) there you can enjoy massive, even punching guitar washes in the part of refrain. In a nutshell, this single can be compared with an intense sort of firework where you can experience different kinds of shapes and patterns, making people somehow happy and jubilant.

lack of Eoins - Sudden Death Mode (2012)

Seksound

9.4

/Indie rock, Remixes, Dream pop, Glo-fi, Art pop, Shoegazetronica, Electronic pop, Alternative rock, Doomgaze/

Comment: the Estonian leading indie (rock) label Seksound has issued the new single Sudden Death Mode by lack of Eoins, a Viljandi-based alternative rock trio. The single is a solid example of how arty, riff-charged guitar drive meets subtle synth brass sections as if the synth progression were borrowed from a track of Dreamphish, a label-related Estonian indie juggernaut (the latter element will be brought out in remixes either). Additionally, the one is accompanied by the set of 3 remixes by Tallinn Daggers, Wolfredt, and Imandra Lake - indeed, apiece of them is successfully accomplished, however, extending from acidic, bubblegum-ish riding and beatific shoegaze looming to gloomy blend of doom folk/rock, shoegaze and dream pop, respectively. The favorite of mine is Wolfredt`s version because of strongly reminding of all those old indie glimpses and bits coming out of the memories of the 90`s. Essentially nostalgic. In a nutshell, the single is a very felicitous choice to start out a new year.

Alpha Couple - Edna Pontellier (2010)

I`m Trying. I`m Trying. I`mTrying Ltd
Mediafire
Soundcloud
Myspace

9.2

/Psych-folk, Indie folk, Avant-folk, Drone folk, Cover, Dream folk, Folk indie, Experimental/

Comment: Alpha Couple is a psych-folk duo (with female singing) from Canada, providing a pair of tracks, which used to differentiate from each other to a large extent. The first of them, the title notch, is a beatific, contemplative siren looming which buzzes and dilates throughout its course. The second track No Children (originally The Mountain Goats` song) used to break all the mirrors around itself turning into a mad, hysterical vista like harpies trying to adopt the string-based music for yourselves. A solid single indeed.

Hox Vox - Undead (2011)

Bandcamp

9.3

/Electronic pop, Progressive rock, RIO, Avant-prog, Weird pop, Experimental/

Comment: Hox Vox is Gianluca Missero, a native from Venice (or Venezia as you wish) who has covered lots of stylistic curiosities and thus has been a steadfast torchbearer for nowadays RIO (rock in opposition) movement or at least its uncompromising traditions. Matter of fact is that he is now more involved in the doings of such groups as Turbogrind Terrorizers, The Blasted Muffins, and The Wreck Up, yet, here is the awesome single Undead which, however, demonstrates Missero`s idiosyncratic sonic calligraphy and ability for dramatic explorations. More concretely, it includes the elements of different kind of breaks, the growling of werewolves, ethereal vowel layers. The most appealing fact is that the moods around it are peculiarly shifting and changeable. I would delineate it for myself as a psychedelic experience at least.

Athletes in Paris - Heartbeat (2011)

Bandcamp

8.5

/Remixes, Alternative pop/rock, House, Soul, Dance rock, Speed garage, Alternative dance, Electro/

Comment: it is a quintet from UK, offering up a single with 5 versions/remixes of it. Indeed, yet bubblegum-ish, dance-appealed track Heartbeat will further be buried under the layers of synthetic sound and natural drum beat will be displaced by house vibes and frequencies in the most dramatic remix by Francophilippe Little Bit Daft Punk Edit which consists of vocoder effects and glamorous ambiance within it. There is also dull 80`s DiscoTape Remix, an acoustic version at BBC 6 Music Live Session, speed garage-ish/electro-soaked/jungle-infected Stevey P Remix, and more soul-tinged AJS Remix.

Craig Chordman - Destiny (2011)

Jamendo

9.4

/Mood music, Glo-fi, Synth rock, Electronic pop, Fusion, Alternative, Progressive synth/

Comment: I reviewed Chordman`s last release (single) Beacon Of Dreams which was an eminent effort. By the way, he has issued the singles only so far. However, his brand new one is certainly bigger and brighter mixing up burbly yet blissed-out synth gears with fusion/jazz rock-alike chords. It reminds a little of the Latvian legend Zodiac. The more you listen to it the better it gets. Huge! Let`s wait for Chordman`s first album. Or is our destiny not to be part of it.

Johan Reinhold - Shoot Me Down (2011)

Soundcloud

7.7

/Pop rock, Electro-rock, Pomp rock/

Comment: it is a single by Johan Reinhold, a Swedish Grammy nominated indie electro pop artist who is influenced by Gayngs, Nikki and the Dove, Miike Snow and Portishead. The notch is produced and arranged by Astma & Rocwell, and onward Lasse Mortén took care of post-production and engineering. Shoot Me Down is a bombastic effort with hard rock guitar riffs, mellow backdrops and cloying footstalls, and some shamanic vowel effects in the ending part. Unfortunately, it is way too predictable and without any vulnerable (read: intricate) corners within it.

Uberlulu - La Fin Du Paquet (2009)

Uberlulu

8.6

/Avant-garde, Classical, Experimental electronica, Weird pop, Crossover, Breaks/

Comment: Uberlulu is a frisky artist coming out from France, being obviously influenced by the dadaist experiments, Californian (less and more) pop avant-garde (Negativeland, The Residents, Big City Orchestra), nihilistic old school industrial music (Cabaret Voltaire, Zoviet France, Throbbing Gristle etc) and apparently much more else. In addition to, the concepts have played a huge role in its music. However, you have excellent chance to see the connections between Uberlulu and those abovementioned artists because of being highly profilic over the last years. This is a two-track single, showing up sultry and easy beat-induced progressions simultaneously, and classical/baroque-drenched weirdness which is spiced up with metallic ticking and barely audible droning beneath it. All in all, it is just a piece of cake (and of course not the best one) for to figure out Uberlulu`s whole configuration.

BOA - Push (2011)

Jammerdosa

9.0

/Indie pop, Alternative pop/rock, Dream pop, Meadow pop/

Comment: This was Gothenburg-based quintet Boa`s first single(s) ever. Similarly to many other Swedish indie bands it is fronted up by the female singer who used to be suggestive in her trilling singing manner. At times whimsical and even a bit hysterical (reminds of Arcade Fire) yet sublime indie pop/rock sound which would rock the world off. Hopefully soon it would be made out already. So you can jump up while running along the meadow.