The Charlatans - You Cross My Path (2008)

XFM
Cooking Vinyl
Lastfm

9.4

/Britpop, Alternative pop/rock, Psychedelic rock, Dance rock, Post-punk/

Comment: The Charlatans surfaced in the beginning of 90`s to become one of the most important Britpop/indie groups of the decade in the UK. While they embarked on as a baggy-influenced psychedelic rock/Madchester/indie dance combo along with Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets, Happy Mondays and many less known ones they later designed their sound into more crowd-appealed aesthetics. More concretely, they embraced the elements of northern soul and blues, respectively. They were fronted up by Tim Burgess, a narcissist singer who was certainly an exemplar for many teenagers of how to cut their hairdos (for me as well). Tellin` Stories released in 1997, one of the best years in pop music ever, was certainly a great album, moreover, having managed to got the highest ranking in the British pop chart.
As usual, You Cross My Path is filled in with psychedelic, Hammond-driven sound, yet, which is backed up with variegating, upbeat paces/and breakbeats and Burgess`s uplifting singing. By the way, regarding Charla`s sound, I firstly perceived for some post-punk-ish bass lines played up by Martin Blunt ever. In a nutshell, because of having no chinks in its armour, the album rings out as an almost perfect pop rock example. So let`s enjoy the biggest stalwart appeared at Recent music heroes so far.

Possimiste - Behind The Seas

Snorkel Quintet - 3 (2011)

pan y rosas

8.6

/Improvised music, Fusion, Experimental rock, Avant-rock, Live session/

Comment: Snorkel Quintet is an improvisation/experimental combo descending from the southern part of the American continent. The 2-piece session was recorded at LAKarraka, extending from gravelly sonic patterns, synth-conjured lunkers and restrained, metallic-hued electro-acoustic ambience to galvanized progressions based on motorik fusion and delicately drawn feedbacks. In the meantime some subtle flute-based wispiness and kind of sampled subtlety can also be apprehended for.

Unfactory - She Bleeds (2008)

Jamendo
Af-music
Lastfm

7.2

/Post-punk, Gothic, Alternative pop/rock, Electro-rock, Pomp rock, Crossover/

Comment: this is a 5-track release by a collective from Florianòpolis, Brazil, which is inclined to reveal dark-hued, post-punk-hooked and electro-drenched pop rock. Buzzing and bubbling synths, and weird "bugs" are hearable in the soundscape at times. The coverprint measures up to. While it is a pompous one (or exactly because of it), the issue seems not to be the deepest fish in the ocean. A sort of AOR for radio shows.

Hukka - Legend of Kalevala soundtrack (2011)

Gabumat

9.0

/Electronic pop, Fusion, Primitive pop, IDM, Ethereal, Nu jazz, Electro, Chill out, Tekno, Mood music, Conceptual, Psychedelic electronica/

Comment: Hukka (Joel Toivonen) is a composer from Finland, being involved in music since the mid of 90`s. This is a massive, 24-track dedication/original game soundtrack to the game Legend of Kalevala. (By the way, as you have already figured out, Kalevala is the Finnish epos). However, Hukka shows up his legend, exploiting a diverse array of elements - from jazz-y/fusion, chilled yet highly warped electronic pop (which might be the dominating element therein) and New Age-esque puffs to more primitive, low-bit results and IDM/trance/electro/and tekno-soaked breaks. On the other side, all this bunch of tracks is heavily atmosphere-drenched and harmony-driven and thus subject to manipulate with the physiochemical processes in our brain. In any cases, the output is a convincing and pleasant recording. Listen to other issues (Hukka, and Experim3ntus` releases only) on Gabumat as well.

Rocketships Of Love - Rocketships Of Love (2008)

Quixodelic

9.2

/Covers, Space pop, Experimentalism, Electronic pop, Krautrock, Experimental rock, Drone rock, Post-psychedelic, Avant-rock, Psychedelia/

Comment: In the first place, I wanted to call attention to such sites/virtual ambiences as Quixodelic Records, and The Daydream Generation which can be considered a pair of the main support points for DIY music in Europe (analogously to the CLLCT in the USA, furthermore, they are communicated with each other as well). However, one of the most idiosyncratic collective at Quixodelic is Rugby-based Rocketships Of Love which is led by Paul Le Keux, also known from such groups as Uberfuzz, and Grosvenor Suite, respectively. However, ROL was the result of him wanting to take a back seat vocally and get people who he admires to sing the covers of songs he loves. Here are 13 tracks, indeed, some of them are the covers (Spaceman 3, Suicide, Brian Eno, Tommy James and the Shondells, Lou Reed), the residual stuff is a lysergical salute to the creatures of outer space taking on a lot extending from primitive electronic experiments to sublime modular synth-built appearances. An excellent output indeed.

The Hirundu - Inga Morton Mania

Daniel Maze - The Art Of Sleeping In (2006)

Sinewaves

9.6

/Glitchtronica, Avant-garde, Ambient noise, Minimal, Sound art, Avant-electronica, Microtonal, Experimentalism, Abstract, Experimental electronica, Noise, Crossover, Ambient/

Comment: While I have deplorably not written any comments/reviews about Daniel Maze`s oeuvre, I have been a fan of him for a while. (Funny, if I think about the Canadian music I used to relate him to Loscil, Tim Hecker, Muhr, GY!BE). The musician from Vancouver has been a profilic composer searching for innovatively striking fields in the realms of ambient, minimal music, sound art, noise, and experimental electronica. Similarly to this 3-pieced album, which consists of 3 long developments. In fact, Maze deserves his surname, propelling from tense, glitch-fried soundscapes and microtonal progressions (digital stridulation of grasshoppers!!!) to slightly soaring, throbbing plateaus and austere abstractness (at times made up of the crackles only), from pulsating electronic music to laid-back noise outbursts/and metallic orchestrations laid out sometimes. I am sure La Monte Young, Luigi Archetti, and Glenn Branca would like this record. In conclusion, it is a classic album of the electronic/and ambient music indeed.

Bit_Rat - Alberta EP (2011)

Pterodactyl Squad

8.8

/Chiptune, Chipbreak, 8-bit, Chipmetal, Progressive, Crossover, Primitive pop, Experimental electronica, Nintendocore/

Comment: Firstly I made acquaintance with Josiah Tobin, a Calgary-based chiptune/8-bit/tracker music artist through a compilation dedicated to the Pink Floyd`s classical Dark Side Of The Moon (he covered Speak To Me/Breathe). I like his searing approach within it he used to blend gasping sawtooth-shaped beats/harmonies impulsively with doom metal and progressive rock aspects (it can slightly be perceived) at times. On the other side, through its highly dense breakcore patterns, it rings out like a sort of rave music. And not for the robots only.

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.