Alligator Indian - Beko_92 (2011)

Beko DSL
Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.4

/Post-punk, Psychedelia, Alternative pop/rock, Garage rock, Gothic, DIY, Experimental indie/

Comment: Asheville-based combo (of two guys and one gal) Alligator Indian (formerly known as Eleven and the Falcons) provides an exhilarating jaunt of garage rock over to its punk-ish (and post-punk-ish/gothic) and psychedelic roots of the 70`s, and even some bristled jangle pop action lines (a la the Pastels sometimes). It reminds a bit of Slutever, Best Coast, and Vivian Girls, and Electrelane (if to compare it to their contemporaries). Stay tuned for the collective`s future publications.

Nac/Hut Report - 9th Overflowing...Milky Slaughterhouse...Dream of Incubator (2010)

Mediafire
Lastfm

9.0

/Post-punk, Industrial rock, Alternative pop/rock, Gothic rock, Experimental rock/

Comment: Nac/Hut Report, a duo consisting of Brigitte Roussel (voice, noise, electronics), and Li/ese/Li (guitar, noise, electronics) offers an exquisite set of 9 tracks based on a blend of galvanized post-punk-ish rigidness, and elliptical industrial rock-ish soundscape/and dense beat frequency, gothic danceability and beautiful melody hooks. A decorous and catchy one at once, experimental and pop-ish at the same time. They are not giving shit at all.

Mequetrefe - Wahwah

A Tribute to Club Tropicana vol.2 (2011)

Beko DSL
Free Music Archive

9.4

/Glo-fi, Dream pop, Experimental indie, Crossover, Tropical pop, Electronic pop, Art-pop, Alternative, Post-punk/

Comment: In fact, the French-based label Beko DSL used not to be the single-only label anymore. Reno`s curated label has issued a handful of EP`s and compilations during the last year. A series of Club Tropicana has got the sophomore notch recently. This is a solid 17-track miscellany of glo-fi (this time it is possible to avoid using the stylistic term “chillwave”) and electronic-driven indie pop, noble post-punk progressions and autotuned electronic pop, Ariel Pink-esque art pop and heartbreaking dream pop, and lots sorts of crossovers inbetween them. And of course, tropicalia pop as well (having not depending on the fact is it either the kind of purely subtantial or relational/contingent definition). All in all, listen to the compilations of such labels as Beko DSL, Holiday Records, and Eardrums Pop, it is the easiest way to find out exemplary indie music for yourself. Through this compilation showcases Beko DSL itself to be related to the Free Music Archive (a music site per excellence!) either.

Zastranienie – Manifest Za Radio I TV (2010)

Free Music Archive
Cao! Ploce

9.0

/Electronic pop, Breakbeat, Avant-garde, Electro pop, Crossover, Experimental electronica, Spoken word, Primitive pop, Weird, Poptronica, Freeformfreakout, Experimentalism, Child music, Techno pop/

Comment: This is an EP by a duo (Boško & Ida) from Belgrade, Serbia which has issued four singles at Free Music Archive. Blissful, exuberant synthesizer chords are laced with dashing rhythm progressions in the backdrop; or bleak, abrasive vocal-soaked ambiences functioning instrumentally as weird introduction and background for high-tempered techno pop/breakbeat; or infantile, exorcized electro pop (the main melody hook of it reminds of one of the children ring games in Estonia) which later will be juxtaposed to tranquilized spoken word and lush electronic manifestos. In conclusion, this is an really frenetic and idiosyncratic electronic music outcome which begins to love you (ha-ha!).

The Burning Of Eterna City - And Onward They March With Broken Legs (2011)

Cherry Blossom Dog

8.8

/Grindcore, Experimental metal, Cybergrind, Neoprogressive, Crrossover, Chiptune, Electronic pop, Kitsch pop, Anti-metal/

Comment: Wow, this 13-pieced album seems to be essentially provoking and possibly mocking...for all those orthodox metalheads and other serious lads-gals who used to perceive some music styles through restricted vistas. Massive/majestic metal and grindcore (and at times goregrind elements as well) structures are quaked with pathetic neoprogressive/and symphonic metal and hair rock/metal-ish synth gears and electro-metal (this is gentler version of metal father`s killing). The strong one construes a metal mayhem unprecedentedly melting Katyusha-inflected kitsch pop, cheesy, farting eurobeat “disco”, easy listening synthesized interludes, robot pop and 8-bit/chiptune (the band itself describes it as “nintendocore”) into the amusing pulp. Personally, it is a highly enjoyable set probably crisscrossing the energy barrier of a listener.

Candy Claws - Catherine In The Sky

Episode 20 - Catherine in the Sky from Candy Claws on Vimeo.

Superficial Random Knowledge Porridge - Satan And His Army (2011)

SRKP

9.5

/Shoegazetronica, Post-pychedelic electronica, Remixes, Post-rock, Electronic pop, Alternative dance, Dream pop, Crossover/

Comment: Superficial Random Knowledge Porridge is a trio from Sankt Peterburg (Saint Petersburg), the northern capital of the Russian Federation, which applies to as one the most important musical and cultural centres (if not the overriding one) in Russia either (Kino, Akvarium, DDT, Sergey Kuryokhin and Pop Mekhanika, Shnur, Messer Chups/ Messer Für Frau Müller etc). However, the album consists of one track and a handful of remixes on it (backed up by Slow, Wols, DZA, and Tarass 3000). All I can say about it is fairly good. It veers from a kind of urban tribalism/post-psychedelic electronica (a la Gang Gang Dance) and recherche, vibraphone-driven post-rock (a la the early Mice Parade and The Dylan Group) to otherwise viewable electronic-related shoegaze music and exultant dream pop on it. An amazing outcome indeed (one of the best albums in 2011 so far). However, I feel myself really lucky as I will visit them performing at the Uue Ajastu Festival in Põlva (Estonia) the next week. All in all, the expectations of mine are potently brought forth because of the remix album and their fantastical gig exactly in the same place one year ago (I can remember for their drummer who was really worth seeing on its own!). By the way, there are also represented Moscow-based post-rock luminary Mooncake, Vaiko Eplik, Imandra Lake, 3 Pead, Mimicry and many others from Estonia. (NB! Thanks to my wife Merike as well for giving a hint at the album).

Younnat - Bioelectronica (2011)

Bump Foot
Lastfm

8.8

/Experimental electronica, Poptronica, Synth pop, Bitpop, Crossover, Electronic pop/

Comment: Oleg Serdyuk, a stubborn musician from Ukraine has issued a handful of releases on Kahvi, and Bump Foot Records. While his previous albums were essentially light-hearted, trilling and easily listenable, those ones did not allude to any sort of casualness or unpretentiousness (the negativity/positivity of the last mentioned concept depends on a certain context, though). In fact, all is very fine on it. However, Bioelectronica tends to chug on toward a more broad aesthetic approach, incorporating abrasive, even slaughtering glares of electronica, and chiptune-esque bits and bleeps and churned jungle and techno pop beats meanwhile or in the midst of the concept.

Hipster Youth - Teenage Elders (2010)

Bandcamp
Long Lost

9.0

/Chiptune, Lo-fi, Primitive pop, Crossover, Experimental indie, Electro pop, Psychedelic, Electronic pop, Alternative, DIY/

Comment: Behind Hipster Youth is Aidan Wall, a 21-years-old Irish musician who previously was known as Porn On Vinyl, and porn.exe. His previous album Hearse Road Trip (2009, Rack And Ruin – issued on the same label which happened to be the starting platform for Dylan Ettinger either, a famous indie/lo-fi musician now) was a rare masterpiece of the indie/shoegaze/experimental folk scene by the aesthetical point of view – more concretely, mixing up shoegaze-ish tunes and jubilant free folk with chiptune-ish borderlines and swings. It might be Teenage Elders, a follow-up, used to have obtained slightly less glaring colours, seamless curves and serpent line-alike trajectories, yet, this is an enjoyable one (the more I listen to it the less convinced I will be). More concretely, besides his previous tricks he has added some new ones to have this time much in common with his previous label mate Testicular Manslaughter, and Ariel Pink (those slightly tortured yet sublime vocals and seemingly easy yet warped electronic pop tunes). And of course, Thursay nights rocks your dirty (or clean) socks off.