Acre4 - Rockspeed EP (2005/2012)

Legoego
Bandcamp
Lastfm

8.9

/Experimental electronica, Crossover, Modern classical, Art pop, Organic electronica, Poptronica, Electronic pop, Experimental indie, Downtempo/

Comment: this 4-track album comes out from Nantes, France where downtempo-inspired electronica and broken beats are tightly interlaced with art pop and indie tendencies and sampling technology (different spoken word parts and insect`s buzz are up there). Acre4 is a duo which pushed off in the year of 2000 being influenced by such legends as My Bloody Valentine, Kraftwerk, Tortoise, Boards Of Canada, Mùm, and Sonic Youth. Indeed, Antoine, and David used to take on uplifting melodies and somewhat glowering progressions which in the first place get hint at Kraftwerk, and Boards Of Canada. Furthermore, now and then it reminds of Art Of Noise due to witty orchestrations and flourishing synth wave fused outlets either. It might be that the ending track Ping Pong (though Ultragain is quite similar to it) makes some difference from the rest of the whole thanks to its heavily sliced and thudding propulsions and melodica-driven motives (indeed, quite close to the early Mùm)

Tatlum - Subject (2011)

Format Noise
Lastfm

8.8

/Power electronics, Industrial techno, Avant-garde, Sampledelic, Cut and paste, Non-music, Rhythmic noise, Experimental electronica/

Comment: Tatlum is a project from Moscow, Russia which is driven by the intentions of noise music and power electronics. Max Zeelot aka Zilot aka Tatlum represents 10 pieces within it heavily distorted, noiseful tunes are interspersed with the tendencies of sampledelics/cut and paste/sound collage and spoken word bits and seamlessly overdriving sample chunks which are bent in a way to be funny (for instance, there can be perceived schlager-based cut-ups in one track). However, frequently the music is getting drifted toward more industrial(-techno)-carved shapes and patterns. Now and then his predominantly exulting music used to be more atmospherical, though, never being a relaxing kind of. In true, there are up few moments where the powerful flow of his sound is somewhat diminished or broken in (for instance, Drei). Such producers as Lebensjunge, Grunt, Edgeist, Interlard, Sick Seed are Tatlum`s kindred souls.

[Teaser of the day] Plastic Penguin - Neu!gativland

Ratkiller - Estrange Tactics (2011)

Bandcamp

9.4

/DIY, Experimental rock, Synth fusion, DIY, Avant-garde, Progressive, Weird pop, Primitive pop, Psychedelic rock/

Comment: Ratkiller is a project by Mihkel Kleis (34-year-old musician and artist from Estonia), previously known as the leader/keyboardist of the retrodelic fusion/prog rock act Luarvik Luarvik, and onward and partially at the same time he used to launch EDASI being a representative of obscure psychedelic music mixed up with the aspects of noise and black metal and lo-fi. This 9-piece album blends quite light-hearted, nostalgic fusion progressions with DIY/lo-fi tendencies (indeed, at times showcasing essentially primitivistic approach how to produce tracks). Partly such kind of music was widely produced at the time of the Moscow Olympics and the regatta in Tallinn. A fabulous and quite idiosyncratic listening by any means. Such tracks as Sword Justice, and Normal For Romans makes me feel very nostalgic.

Cyril M. - Démesure Du Vide (2012)

Sirona-Records
Lastfm

9.1

/Noise, Avant-garde, Experimentalism, Guitar ambient, Experimental rock, Experimental electronica, Avant-rock, Ambient, Acousmatics, Improvised music/

Comment: there are represented 8 tracks spreaded out over 43 minutes. In any cases, these minutes are highly enjoyable due to its variegating nature and frantic characteristics and masterful accomplishment. In particular, the issue rotates technically around guitars and sound processing and effect blocks - it veers away from arty, arpeggio-induced fingerpicking and improvised hirsute guitar riffs to very noiseful orchestrations a la Glenn Branca, and Tore Elgaroy and otherwise quite straightforward but ultra-heavy rock and roll outbursts and desperate shrieks. Furthermore, at times these sounds are embellished with dashing electronics and witty samples thus providing lots of pleasant dodges and alternate corners.

Arcade Island - Spring EP (2012)

Clinical Archives
Bandcamp

7.8

/Alternative pop, Poptronica, Pomp pop, Electronic pop, Glo-fi/

Comment: Arcade Island is the project by Alex Bew, an artist from Cumberland, Pennsylvania providing a handful of glimmering notches. However, stylistically it is a little startling because of mixing up a little bit mawkish boy band-alike vocal lines with more or less alternative pop/glo-fi-oriented sonic layers behind and around it. Theoretically it could reach the chart of the Billboard, or the stages of the Eurovision contest it would be welcomed to poison one of those seedbeds of mediocrity.

[Teaser of the day] Butterfly Tea - Magic Of The Seventh World

(o)†HERS & The Implicit Order - Bribery And Winning Ways (2012)

Bandcamp

8.8

/Hauntology, Freeformfreakout, Avant-garde, Noise, Experimentalism, Plunderphonics, Cut and paste, Acousmatics, Crossover, Sound collage, Non-music/

Comment: this collaboration act includes 8 tracks which are made up of the washes of gritty noise, snippets of vintage motion pictures, off-kilter experiments, heavily warped pop tunes, insect-alike drones and buzzes, and abstract, even haunting soundscapes. Sometimes these aspects are separated from each other, sometimes not. In a word, it contains an amount of irritating information. It can be compared with the albums by The Caretaker, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and the compilations of halloween music taken out from the 60`s.

Dale Cooper Quartet & The Dictaphones - Beko_97 (2011)

Beko DSL
Lastfm

9.2

/Noir jazz, Trip-hop, Post-rock, Nu jazz, Avant-garde, Crossover, Cinematic/

Comment: there are up a pair of sublime notches spreaded out over 17 minutes. The whole rotates around the noir-centered progressions and cinematic glimpses. In particular, these ghastly vocal whiffs and smoky bits are blended with minimal/cool jazz/glowering trip-hop in the first part and with more post-rock-esque guitar terrains and a profound, intimate interaction between male and female voices in the second one.

Arts & Crafts Label & Management Sampler Vol. 8 (2012)

Arts & Crafts
Soundcloud

8.8

/Indie pop, Alternative rock, Baroque pop, Electronic pop, Singer-songwriter, Synth pop, Alt-folk/

Comment: this is the eighth compilation by Arts & Crafts, a considerable Toronto-based indie imprint. (Chiming) guitar music meets poptronica/electronic pop/synth pop meets baroque pop - this would be one of the slogans of the miscellany. At times it allows for itself even more bombastic elements having powerful rises and ascending. There are represented such artists as Bishop Morocco, Antoine Reverb, Molly Rankin, Dan Mangan, Gold & Youth, Cold Specks, Parlovr, Trust, Eight and a Half, The Darcys, Zeus, Uncle Bad Touch, Bam Bam. The favourite of mine are Cold Specks`Holland which interlace an alt-folk and chamber folk template with soul(ful) tendencies, and Trust`s Sulk which is an instance of glimmering synth pop.