The Victory Park - False Silence (2010)

Radio Hand
Lastfm

9.3

/Post-punk, Alternative pop/rock, Shoegaze, Gothic, New Wave, Experimental indie/

Comment: the debut album by a trio coming from Moscow, Russia does reflect a quite similar effect to the likes of Franz Ferdinand and Interpol, however, their output imposes even more through its acute roughness. Their music is uncompromising, seemingly having no intention for such calculations as regarding the objects of utility, on the other hand, lacking also the annoying hermetics so usual to the studio walls and pertaining of the producers of kind of I-know-which-is-the right way-to-record. It is personal sort of anxiety and pessimism, which encourages these musicians to struggle on to battle their fights. Obviously it is inspired by post-punk and proto-indie forerunners (Joy Division, The Cure, The Chameleons, Durutti Column) which came about from the end of the 70`s and early 80`s. Infused with the verbal side sustained by the pessimistic philosophy of life, and obscure moods. Inspite of a sort darksidedness the guitar chords are played up with the help of the glare and dinstinct flash and overdriving riffs do conduct a trip sometimes even further, crossing the boundaries of post-punk, and coming over to the house of shoegaze music (a la Swervedriver); beyond that there is given importance to the neurotic drums and some pinch of electronics with the purpose to get pushed up this desired and obligatory dark appealing. A worth issue mentioned in by many bloggers from around the world.

Infirm Individual - I`m Not From Here (2011)

Pxl-Bot
Infirm Individual

9.0

/8-bit, Bitpop, Tracker music, Nintendocore, Crossover, Psychedelic electronica, Chiptune, Chipbreak/

Comment: if to regard for a line of delicate creative tradition in the realm of 8-bit electronica/bitpop/console music we cannot be without listening to the oeuvres by Infirm Individual, a young musician from Germany. Indeed, it is a top output by Evil Cee aka Healy Cee to date. It is highly psychedelic, using acidic patterns (autotuned vocals) and blissful grit to bury the sawtooth-shaped patterns beneath it. On the other side, at times it is highly atmospheric, ambient-alike, more profoundly, using the stylistical element as the ground for grindcore-ish vocal manner and shamanic overthrows. You can compare his deeds with such names as ashbrg, and 8bit bEtty, and Bliss, for instance.

Cagey House - Gnomic (2011)

Justnotnormal

8.8

/Sampledelic, Sound collage, Cut and paste, Plunderphonics, Hauntology, Weird pop, Art pop, DIY, Lo-fi/

Comment: the webaudio/netaudio legend Dave Keifer aka Cagey House (being active since the end of 90`s/the beginning of 00`s) makes a slight swerve from his previous, profoundly wraith-filled pop/art pop/intentional pop tradition, on the other side, coming relatively close to his first publications (Model City; Octopus Two). Roaming lo-fi motives are around there to involve shades drawn out from the vials of sampledelia, DIY, and hauntology. At times it is funny, sometimes gratingly melancholic. However, you get highly confused if you are intended to determine it off on the scale of time and space.

Yokandesh – Viva Como Queira (2011)

MixGalaxy

9.1

/Crossover, Jazz, Latin music, Hip-hop, Urban music, Baião, Samba, Pop rock, Easy listening/

Comment: Yokandesh is a musician (born in 1985) from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, who used to merge traditional Brazilian/South American beats and colours (samba, rock, baião, jazz, bossa) with fine hip-hop beats and rhymes. However, being up there to realize his ambitions in an excellent way. The average quality of this 18-track album is high thereby a handful of truly mesmerizing pop songs can be found out from there. Moreover, it involves much more than a common summery pop album.

Mc Cullah - A Mess These Days

Honeydrum - Dead In The West (2011)

Bandcamp

9.6

/Psych-rock, Krautrock, Noise, Avant-rock, Noise rock, Experimental rock, Psychedelia/

Comment: dear psych-heads all around the world. This 2-track single/EP is apparently thought for you. Especially Dead In The West, though low noise-inflected feedbacks and moaning vocal lines. The second one, Levitator, conjures up a dazzling sunshine, taking on a blend of quasi ethnic psychedelia and krautrock-ish phenomenon. A wonderful shit indeed, which makes you feel really free.

Holmes - Holmes EP (2011)

Holmes

7.4

/8-bit, Bitpop, Primitive pop, Experimental electronica, Tracker music, Electronic pop/

Comment: while it is an example of slow 8-bit electronic sound, it does not mean that is a kind of slow music a jot. There are represented 3 notches which showcase running on through acidic sonic tunnels, more detailly, taking on simplistic chord progressions and slightly abrasive throbbing. On the other side, it is without a large scope of colours and rhythm patterns making more sense for us. Indeed, the issue seems to be black and white, simple and unpretentious.

Squadra Omega - Tenebroso (2008)

Clinical Archives

9.2

/Krautrock, Experimental rock, Avant-rock, Space rock, Improvised music, Psychedelia/

Comment: Approximately one month ago I reviewed the Italian krautrock combo Squadra Omega`s album Rennes Le Chateau (2010, Vuoto). However, this one-track album was a follow-up to Tenebroso, issued on the legendary Russian label Clinical Archives on Christmas Eve in 2008. Similarly to RLC, it is a spatial, metronome-shaped improvised rock and roll-relied instance, filled in with blissed-out ridges and penetrating bottoms. Moreover, it is borderless in its absolutely psychedelic course. Yet, it makes some difference, more concretely, through a more straightforward approach, having no time for off-the-wall sonic knitting and effects. If to draw parallels upon a handful of kindred souls, however, you can enjoy Joxfield ProjeX, Frozen Geese, Replicast, and Faust (of course). By the way, OmegaMac used to exploit bzz bZz machine, and the coverprint is amazing.

The Cult Of Penn - Zenn Rabbit

Housewife - Galaxy Galaxy (2011)

Bandcamp

8.7

/Hip-hop, Instrumental, Sound collage, Avant-hop, Cut and paste, Sampledelic, Urban music/

Comment: this is Sydney-residing psych-head Hamish Duncan (also known as Sleep In) and his very version of hip-hop (or/and sound collage/cut and paste). Galaxy Galaxy is the first LP after 3 EP`s issued during the January, 2011. The whole is cooked ready for us without any vocal and spoken word snippets (just some vowel parts), presented through loads of diverse sample combinations and dynamical bass-relied mayhem. Impressive murky yet airy layers are laid out over to the background.