Fixture Records Compilation No.2 (2011)

Fixture Records

8.8

/Experimental indie, Alternative, DIY, Psychedelic, Space pop, Post-pop, Avant-pop, Dreamwave, Nugaze/

Comment: Similarly to the compilations of Hobo Cult, Eardrum Pop, Beko DSL, Holiday Records and many other similar kind of labels, this miscellany of 21 tracks on Fixture Records reflects upon the situation of nowadays innovative indie music. It is mostly made in the vein of DIY aesthetics, dreamwave, nugaze, and psychedelia. Here are represented Dirty Beaches, Lantern, Sequin Kit, Jef Barbara, Cresting, Chevalier Avant Garde, Mavo, Silver Dapple, Brave Radar, Freelove Fenner, Sheer Agony, Omma Cobba, and Telephone Callers. My favorite track is Sheer Agony`s Caitlin And Peter And George Harrison, a kind of doo wop-drenched easy listening.

Clinker - So We Say

Cygnet Wings - Cygnet Wings EP (2011)

Bandcamp

8.9

/Baroque pop, Chamber music, Avant-folk, Dream folk, Vaudeville folk, Singer-songwriter, Alt-folk, Americana/

Comment: Dan Hall`s sonic templates are as blissful as the same used to be essentially melancholic at times. I just mean full of beauty with some infiltrated sense of bitterness. Moreover, the steps of progressions on it do hit into your feeling centre, especially if to regard those epic growings getting out of restraint chamber-drenched sequences into a sort of breathtaking Americana pop.

Doctrine - Beko Digital Single # 90 (2011)

Beko DSL
Bandcamp

9.0

/Hypnagogic pop, Post-pop, Glo-fi, Synth pop, Chillwave, Electronic pop, Poptronica/

Comment: Doctrine is a combo from France (Douglas Donovan & Holden Brahms) offering a single consisting of two tracks. The first of them is English-sung, the other is just instrumental. The first rings out like a mesmerizing sign of already starting summer time (using cloudless synths an a drum machine), the other laces some brooding synth chords with the progressions into dream-coated electronica/hypnagogic pop. In any cases, all is pleasant.

Nocturn Deambulation - The Grand Opening (2011)

Wildness

Wildness

8.7

/Black metal, Progressive rock, Death metal, Brutal metal, Epic, Crossover, Art-metal/

Comment: I am listening and listening to... this is a permanently changing mix of progressive rock guitar riffs and electronic keyboards, brutal noodling on guitars, black metal influenced vocal threatening, hammering machine-alike drums do make up lots of impression. The introducing track Waltz of men in white is a dizzy yet epic entrance on the basis of whimsically played synths. Indeed, Frèdèric Modine aka Nocturn Deambulation from France has done it offering to the world a murky yet convincing manifesto of him.

Baristik Mi Gostembil Project - Gostembil Sessions (2011)

Clinical Archives

9.2

/Art-pop, Experimental pop, Crossover, Improvised music, Chamber pop, Avant-garde, Jazz, Oriental, Trip-hop, Toytronica/

Comment: The Uskudar/Istanbul-based trio headed by Baris Demirel does bridge the Western musical experience with the Oriental-relied ones. Indeed, it is a subtle patchwork/crossover publication of a vast range of sounds and appearances - from Gainsbourg-esque sensual pop to the most intimate moments on trumpets regarding the music by Miles Davis. Furthermore, threatening programmed beats accomplished with a suggestive lead motive seems to fluttering toward Bristol and thereafter moving on to create a mix based on the sounding of toys, the chords of melodica and street sounds. The first track Sessiz Cumbus sounds as if a Turkish version of chamber pop music (or an equivalent for Penguin Cafe Orchestra). Indeed, Gostembil Sessions is a wondrous set of 7 tracks.

Henrik José – Photo Album (2011)

Jammerdosa

9.6

/Dream pop, Electronic pop, Art-pop, Ethereal pop, Experimental indie, Alternative/

Comment: Henrik Josè from Sweden started out his musical actions very early, at the age of 15, in the mid of 90`s. As known under the pseudonym Bliss he was then known as part of the 8-bit/bitpop/tracker music/chiptune scene, blending those genres with shimmering soulful tunes. If to juxtapose his then-experience with the nowadays one, however, you can see some huge differences for sure. Though, Josè`s experiences are still bridgeable with each other. If the first track used to go far away, quite close to the glacial yet dream-filled soundscape of Sigur Ròs (on the other side, at times it resembles of the superb album Cafè de Flor by the Estonian group Bizarre), the second track is wrapped up with glossy electronics whose starting part resembles (more or less) paradoxically of Steve Reich`s Drumming. One of the best successes from the recent year.

Kristin Hersh - Speedbath (working) (2009/2011)

CASH Music
Free Music Archive

9.3

/Alternative pop, Indie rock, Singer-songwriter, Chamber rock, Epic, Dream pop, Art-rock, Power rock, Alt-folk/

Comment: Despite the years already passed since the creating act of Throwing Muses, Kristin Hersh does lack no power hinting at how to conjure up great rock songs nowadays. As one of the biggest (female) indie stars throughout the 80`s and 90`s, she used to sound previously excellent to date. All those 12 songs represented here are solid ones enough - stylistically veering from folk-ish interpretation to dream pop-like introspections, from subtle infiltrated guitar layers and angry guitar strums to progressive orchestrated guitar pop and powerful but majestic grazing. Thank You, Kristin.

Josh Woodward - Flypaper

LFC & FCao - Mesinha (2011)

pCloud

8.7

/Psychedelia, Avant-rock, Improvised music, Doom rock, Black metal, Experimental rock, Space rock/

Comment: This is an almost omnipotent striving toward different sort of psychedelic heaven - massive abrasive guitars pannels (at times with strong doom-ish angles or mid-points), relaxing reed organ lines, or some solemn seepings on church organ, heavily moaning vocals will be merged into peculiar and dizzy evolvements pretending to be quite genuine on its own. No doubt, the closure track Symphonic Vagina is an instance of the apoteosic revelation of psychedelia.

The Post Riot Era - It`s Already Tomorrow in China

Decktonic - Dance Machine (2011)

Decktonic
Bandcamp
Lastfm

8.8

/Electro pop, House, Electro-house, Club dance, Rave music, Bubblegum techno, Tekno, 8-bit, Bitpop, Chiptune/

Comment: A set of 11 tracks by Christian Montoya, a DJ and electronic musician from the Big
Apple, did start off to sympathize from the very first second, pointing it out through the filter-subordinated neon-lighted house music, serotonine-releasing electro-house sequences which are at times replaced with bubblegum techno/tekno beats, buzzing and drilling electro drones and even the "corroded" break echoes of 8-bit/chiptune/tracker music. Sometimes the frequency of beats will be thickening upon the level of rave-shaped twists. By the way, Dance Machine is a Korg DS10-determined issue (with some exceptions, though). Indeed, it rocks your electro-socks off.

Astrowind - Zhitkur

Kreatiivmootor - Claudia

Crook'd Finger vs. Harlan vs. D.Rhythm:O (2011)

Vuzh Music

8.5/9.6

/Dystopic techno, Neoclassical, Dub, Avant-techno, Industrial techno, Remixes, Experimental techno/

Comment: C. Reider is a unsung hero of darkly brooding electronic music who has been involved in music for about two decades, being very profilic as solo artist (under his own name; Luster; Crook`d Finger), having loads of collaborations and split albums, and having participated in such collective as Drone Forest. He has worked as musical reviewer and headed up a label titled as Vuzh Music. However, the initial release of this remastered version was issued 11 years ago. Someone called as Finger (ha-ha) has re-worked the versions of such artists as Harlan and D. Rhythm:O, respectively. The first side of the album (or the first side of the cassette release initially) is a bit more joyous industrial-based appearance mixing it up with latin breaks and heavily stomping cadences and riffs. The flip side of it, however, it will be revolving around the axis of ominously sounding industrial techno, profound dystopic reverberations and murky dub progressions. For instance, if you are deeply get involved in music of Justin Broadrick`s projects or the similar kind, this album must be heard at least as well.

Nikea Bustla vs Good Natured Threat – Ma Vie Tragique (2011)

Kosmo

9.2

/Soul, House, Club dance/

Comment: The Canadian duo Lara & Mark Hjorthoy`s debut issue Short Stories (2011, Melodica) did generate a lot of vast suggestion via catchy beats searching for balance between club dance and brain-relied satisfaction. In liaison with the German artist Nikea Bustla, they are back now with a single, called as Ma Vie Tragique. By its stylistical characteristics, however, it can be considered a fluttering soul-hued house music output elegantly veiled with purple tones and some acid-fried synth appearances. Indeed, through these aspects and highly sensual female singing and catchy repetitive loops it is the sort of pychedelic music, indeed. All in all, it is a beautiful single for sure.

Shortcut To Last - Two Minutes in Heaven (2011)

SmileCore Nation
Lastfm

7.8

/Happy punk, Pop punk, Pop rock, Pomp rock, Easycore/

Comment: It was in the early or in the mid of 90`s when Green Day was blamed in attemptions of the commercializing of punk music. Of course, the indictment was but ridiculous if to regard the bleak fact that the kick-off point of this style related to the Sex Pistols was just one of the business projects by deceased Malcolm McLaren. So nothing in their face, though. The Canadian quartet Shortcut To Last from Windsor continues to plod in the vein of happy punk/pop punk/easycore, resembling of such bands as Green Day, Blink-182, Sum 41, Simple Plan and many others. In a more concrete language, those bombastic high-energized guitar riffs, massive singalong choruses, variegated with interesting backing in drumming are the main ingredients of the album. All is properly produced and thereby possibly ready to conquer the higher levels of the Billboard.

Williamson - A-

Vassily K. & Girilal Baars live at GES 21

Ave Eva - Self Titled EP (2011)

Dracula Horse
Soundcloud

9.5

/Dream folk, Repetitronica, Psychedelia, Exprimental folk, Post-psychedelic, Toytronica, Sound art, Microtonal, Freak folk, Abstract electronica, Soundscape, Ambient/

Comment: The result is vastly bigger than the total sum of the issue`s particles would afford to expect it for, though. Indeed, it is essentially sparse by its formative angle - only some tickling drum loops, separated string chords and metallophone-backed minutiae, ghostly spreading miraculous atmospheric texture can be met left and right. The main point is that the soundscape does change its colour/tonality and intention through a relentless array of modified sonic (pitch) effects. As the final effort, it stretches itself out from dream-alike repetitronica and subtle microtonal-relied sound-art to astonishing dream-folk and toytronica notches. The more you listen to it the more you getting fall into the sort of post-psychedelic depth (which is psychedelic on its own, though). The parallels can be drawn upon the workouts by Oskar Hallbert, and Thuoom/Thuuooom, both of them coming from the Scandinavian Peninsula.

Jonas Kocher - solo (2011)

Insubordinations

8.8

/Improvised music, Microtonal, Minimal, Avant-garde, Electro-acoustic, Experimentalism, Live session, Live recording, Conceptual/

Comment: Insubordinations is a label known as a platform for improvised music based mainly on jazz music and electro-acoustic ambiences. Jonas Kocher is an accordionist who had performed this set of 36 minutes at the zoom festival in Bern. Using only his main musical instrument (and objects in addition to it), however, his sound is actually much more than just an instance of the squiffer-based sound as general. By its main characteristics it is rather an electro-acoustic outtake where silence is hybridized or variegated with loader (drone) tones and brooding sometimes even threatening progressions coming from one phase to over another one. Indeed, it is not an accidental arty-farty spasmic set instead offering carefully treated phenomena which makes much impression and sense.

Sight Follows Sound - Supply Lines (2009)

Dog Eared

8.9

/Experimentalism, Trance-music, World music, Noise, Crossover, Space rock, Dark ambient, Synth music, Musique concrète, Electro-acoustic, Avant-garde, Sound-art, Acousmatics/

Comment: Dog-Eared is a solid experimental music label from Mexico which has been on hiatus for the last two years, though. More concretely, it has been an umbrella label for sound-art, dark ambient, art rock, and much more else. The concrete album of 3 long-spanning tracks comes from Birmingham, Alabama, USA which used to be not a easy case to be categorized for, for instance. It veers from sound-art-y minimal yet sheer soundscapes to dark ambient, from live recorded (ethnic) drumming to improvised noise jams, from sampling of found sounds to synth pop-like interventions , from space rock/space noir snippets to a kind of exorcized ambient vision. Indeed, it is a potent ghost from the near-past.

ne:o - direkt (2011)

Aaahh

9.0

/Post-rock, Fusion, Psychedelic, Improvised music, Progressive rock, Kosmische Musik, Art-rock, Live session/

Comment: A gig by this quintet from Dresden was recorded in 2009 in theatre somewhere and thereafter formed into the fourth album. More concretely, it is an artful attempt to cross shitloads of genres - vital post-rock, jazzy electronics, dance-appealed Kosmische Musik, cinematic fusion, prog-rock, purple-hued vibes and effortless dynamic impetus into the awesome whole. The result is masterfully realized and thereby highly recommended. More detailly, it might be described as an instance of ringing out somewhat in-between Tortoise, King Crimson, danceable krautrock and funk-y no wave bands.

Fig Mints (of Your Imagination) - We Love You EP (2010)

CLLCT
The Fig Mints
Quixodelic

8.8

/Singer-songwriter, Anti-folk, DIY, Art-rock, Noise rock, Post-punk, Alternative rock, Experimental indie/

Comment: Here are represented 4 tracks which used to sway between tough and mellow, between dynamics and introspectiveness. It does start out with heavily stomping-abrasive post-punk-ish drums and feedback-based chaos reminiscent of JAMC and Primal Scream and Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. Later it gets slowed down thereby getting closer to mellow and catchy indie pop tunes which are embellished with glockenspiel-relied snippets. This issue is an example of how the kind of great music can be created with a sparse array of elements.

Tracing Arcs - Eye See You Too (Remixes & Forbidden Fruit) (2011)

23 Seconds

9.2

/Trip-hop, Electronic pop, Remixes, Nu jazz, Down-tempo, Chillout, Big beat, Drum and bass/

Comment: This is a remix album of the issue Eye See You by the English duo Fran Kapelle & Paul H. Addie released on iD.EOLOGY in 2010. Indeed, you can discover yourself through 9 mostly mesmerizing remixes from here, veering from blissful slow-tempo (at times laid-back) electronica and nu jazz ripples to majestic big beat and other solid breaks-backed developments, from soothing ones to whimsical bounces. Those velvet-like and sometimes even seductive milieus around the rhythm sequences do have the value on its own for sure.

GNs Compilation - Break Asymmetry

pous - case study of a drone (2011)

NoEcho

9.3

/Hip-hop, Leftfield, Avant-garde, Experimentalism, No-hop, Noise-hop/

Comment: Welcome to the future, motherfuckers... . It is a frenzied instance of leftfield/avant-garde hip-hop which is crumpled with noise-filled undercurrents or ripping explosions, off-kilter electronics/cacophonic/near-glitch minimalism, in any cases, with seemingly all of that which seems to be out of the slippery middle points and central focuses. Omnipotently destructive madman alongside with re-constructive impression - this would be a slogan for that issue. Altogether, this is a genuine example of radical hip-hop (if something would sound really radical in this post shit era of the post-modernism).

Sofa Club - Ruby Red (2011)

Bandcamp

9.6

/Synth pop, Alternative pop, New Wave, Electronic pop, Alternative dance/

Comment: A fantastic mix of New Romanticism and New Wave, which more concretely does hint at lacing of catchy synth harmonics with uplifting dance-appealed cadences and all-round colourful luster. Yet, it might hide more than you are able to figure out at the first sight. There can be detected for some similarities with the timeless aestethics of Ariel Pink, for instance. All in all, it is one of the best keyboard-based albums during the last years. Indeed, it pretends to sound like dance music in the discotheque of a flying spaceship in the future sometime. Really retrofuturistic - the future is actually now.

The Sunshine Factory - Sugar (2011)

BFW Recordings

8.7

/Shoegaze, Alternative rock, Noise rock, Fuzz pop, Psychedelia, Dream pop/

Comment: Honestly, after the first listening time this publication of 10 tracks did not satisfy me - it seemed to be way too superficial and easy and at times incomprehensibly strange with those unexpectedly cutted off songs showcasing itself like a sort of demo-like songs. However, I decided to listen to it further and general perspective of the album started to better with each time. Beyond the incorporating of dizzy guitar noise impetuses similar to Isn`t Anything and Loveless respectively, the album starts out to fall into convincing psychedelia via noiseful walls spiced up with a handful of electronic sentiments and danceable rhythms. Indeed, it is a strong output from Alabama, USA.

Sturqen - Episode 07 (2011)

Radius

9.0

/Noise, Minimal, Experimental electronica, Drone noise, Abstract electronica, Microtonal, Avant-garde, Conceptual, Sound-art/

Comment: Cèsar Rodrigues and David Arantes do conjure up machine-determined sonic shamanism where abstract droning/drilling noise meets somewhat monotonically stomping cadences at times. Lots of shards of noise, hisses and shades can be met around there. By a more conceptual aspect, Portugese radio transmissions were exploited as initial source material for the track which was created separately of each other. Those 18 minutes can be compared either to Pan Sonic or Autechre, or both of the legends of electronic music.

Rodzmatos – Untimely Music (2011)

PandaFuzz

7.4

/Improvised music, Jazz, Cool jazz/

Comment: This silentfully rolling set of 5 long-running (or very long-running) tracks resembles of the workouts by Miles Davis from the ending part of 60`s (his collaboration with Gil Evans) except as if the trumpets were replaced with string instruments and cool jams. At times beautiful, at times a little bit boring and predictable, during most of its course it is consistent yet - such kind of salon music.

Thomas Truax - Free As Fireflies In May (2011)

Bandcamp

9.0

/Experimental indie, Indie pop, Alternative pop, Singer-songwriter/

Comment: I fell in love with this velvet-like and harmonic-loaded single. This rings out like a crossroad between mellow Sonic Youth and jangle pop glimpses. Thomas Truax is an experimental indie musician who started off in 90`s. First of all, he is known through loads of self-mastered instruments like Sister Spinster, Mary Poppins (sic!), Mini Sister Spinsters, Mother Superior and some other ones. By the way, during this year he has released one single per month via Bandcamp. So please stay tuned on this cult musician.

Wingclipper – Recursion (2010)

Share Free Music

8.7

/Instrumental hip-hop, Trip-hop, Lo-fi, Sound collage, Crossover/

Comment: This 8-track issue is a patchwork of diverse styles - from instrumental hip-hop and trip-hop, down-tempo-backed rhythms to witty samples, mutanted sonic effects and arid lo-fi attitude. Sometimes it used to be hypnotically floating, at times nervously stomping and abrasive. It reminds of the workouts by the Canadian label Neferiu Records. By the way, the coverprint reminds in a funny way of the sleeve of Love`s Forever Changes (1967). However, the album seems to be the kind of grower.

Frame - Visions (2009)

Enough Records
Lastfm

8.6

/Psyambient, Electronic pop, Big beat, Crossover, Goa trance, Chillout, IDM/

Comment: Although the album kicks off with dark-hued, spaced-out electronics, it later develops into mainly chill-y mid-tempo electronic pop, which is embellished with glossy IDM and brooding psybient/Goa trance and thudding big beat-relied rhythm characteristics or containing the elements of all of them at once. A solid set of 10 tracks from Portugal.

Mythomaniacs Are Right - There Is No Such Thing As Death, Life Is Only A Dream And We Are The Imagination Of Ourselves (2011)

Bandcamp

8.5

/Noise, Avant-garde, Spoken word, Experimentalism, Sound collage, Cut and paste/

Comment: Mythomaniacs Are Right is a musical project from Chile making an apparent attempt for a very sort of cutting edge music. Massive digital noise plateaus, through the backbone drilling cacophony, divergent strums, ticking (quasi-)beats, loosely running-dropping bleak bleeps (regarding this aspect, it does sound quite similar to Mùm, an Icelandic post-rock/electronica group), weird-contexted outtakes (sampling the Voice, for instance), spoken word snippets, and at times absurd-like/very funny song titles. And the album title says much about us. This is not pop music during most of its course at all - rather it is a try to re-create a kind of new metaphysics (sound can be considered much stronger argument than any combination of words).

Beyond The Dune Sea - The Dune Sea

Clark Nova Portable - Birds fly out of the trees like dust beaten from an old sofa (2010)

Luvsound
Bandcamp

8.8

/Experimental electronica, Minimal, Sound-art, Ambient, Chamber music, Microtonal, Soundscape/

Comment: This is a single by the Oslo resident Rudi Simmons. It rings out vastly foggy, restrainted and wraith-like. Moreover, it is hardly audible. This is like a lone stake standing on the crossroad of ambient, chamber music, experimental electronica, and sound-art. It must be listened to loads of times to get a intuition and possible intention below it.

Quadrilles - {​[​(​Q​)​]​} (2010)

Bandcamp

7.8

/Indie rock, Alternative pop, Post-punk, Math rock, Dance rock, Crossover/

Comment: Quadrilles is a trio from the Foggy Albion mixing up indie rock with the elements of danceable post-punk ( a la Gang Of Four; or somewhat restrainted The Pop Group) and math-rock. Indeed, just a guitar, bass and drums (played by a gal, by the way). The Turks Are Restless is the most outstanding one on it.

Dinosaur Youth - Stone Ages (2011)

Ethno Indigo

8.4

/Ambient noise, Ambient drone, IDM, Post-rock, Noise, Experimental electronica, Crossover/

Comment: By reading firstly the description of this album at Archive.org and while listening to it this makes out somewhat an interesting gap. Indeed, it might be and at times it is about noisy postrock songs. On the other side, it seems to be a re-definition of the abovementioned style as well. First of all, through those 8 tracks are represented noisy ambient, skipping ambient drone, murky atmospheric sound, unconventional blurred/hurted/noisy IDM-esque overthrows, and masterfully subdued guitar noise levels. You can find out even some parallels with Sonic Youth`s most conceptual and experimental workouts herein. An intricate outset for sure.

Muhr - Everything Is Ok, We're Still Standing (2011)

Camomille

8.8

/Post-rock, Modern classical, Ambient, Drone, Chamber music, Avant-garde/

Comment: Two tracks by the Montrèal-based legend Vincent Fugère for whom Muhr used to be just one of his many musical practices. Yet, the abovementioned nom du plume used to be the most well-known of them so far. Threatening drones, epic alternations in tones, shimmering string-relied magic, soundtrack-alike orchestrations, slowly evoking and progressing soundscapes in light and dark. All in all, a sequent masterpiece by Muhr.

Keijo & Uton - Alun Ääniä (2009/2011)

Om Ha Sva Ha Ksha Ma La Va Ra Yam
Free Music Archive

8.5

/Forest folk, Free folk, Psych-folk, Avant-folk, Experimental folk, Drone folk, Improvised music, Psychedelia, Krautrock, New Weird Finland, New Weird Europe/

Comment: The Finnish underground folk does have much to say for all of us. For instance, Laulu Laakson Kukista (2008, Fonal) was the best album of 00`s or Kemialliset Ystävät`s album Ullakkopalo (Fonal) was one of the best album of 2010. However, Keijo Virtanen and Jani Hirvonen, two legends from the Finnish psych-folk/forest folk scene representing their stream of sub-consciousness, i.e potent vision via shamanic rhythm sections, off-kilter blues chords, psychedelic bottomlessness and shivering krautrock-esque mysticism. Improvised jam sessions which are built on repetitive loops, quasi-ethnic drumming, at times reverb-loaded singing, restrainted yet electrified strings and droning hiss. And as customary to the forest folk scene the reflections through silence are proudly represented here. A great event indeed.

Giggs - Universos EP (2011)

Monofònicos

8.6

/House, Club dance, Downbeat, Tech-house, Remixes, Dub-house/

Comment: This release from Medellin (Colombia) makes up much sympathy over you. Being embellished with confident cadences of tech-house and dub-house, brooding mid-tempo and at times minimal slow-tempo beats, Universos EP seems to be masterfully variegated and balanced in any cases. It reminds of those listening times of radio shows in the evenings in ending part of the 90`s. Half of the tracks are original, half of them are remixes. Indeed, it is genuine satifactory in its rhythm connections and mood interactions.

From.Oceans.To.Autumn - The Flood​/​The Fall (2011)

Bandcamp

8.7

/Post-metal, Shoegaze, Post-rock, Ambient rock, Epic, Stonergaze, Crossover, Experimental metal, Experimental rock/

Comment: Brandon Helms and Allen Knight (previously known from Autumn Is Forever). Two men with a guitar, bass and sampling techniques from Charlotte, North Carolina, playing out a mesmerizing blend of post-metal, shoegaze/stonergaze, post-rock and ambient on this 2-track EP. A bunch of energy and vibrations via aesthetical temperance on the heavy scale of sound. Just give it a listen and let it deluge over you.

Karmafish - Life Support (2011)

Jamendo

8.2

/Alternative rock, Grunge rock, Hard rock, Noise rock, Progressive rock, Jangle pop/

Comment: Not a bad effort at all... . A sort of sonic patchwork. It kicks off with stop-and-go rock and roll, which will be followed by the kind of brooding contemplation (you can see at that even some similarities with the glorious British folk music), lots of grunge guitar tones, noisy riffs. Actually prog-rock and hard rock mentality is touched therein either. The last tracks, especially Supernatural reminds of Mozzer`s solo efforts (with some slight influences of Madchester/baggy drums). On the other side, A Perfect View is a charming entry into the light-hearted jangle pop world of 80`s (compare it to the Bodines, for instance). All in all, a spoonful more synergy and glossiness to be added to it yet and the album would have been a genuine masterpiece.

Electric Landscapes of Rebellion - Electric Landscapes with Pigs & Piano (2011)

Petcord

8.5

/Sound art, Electro-acoustics, Found sound, Acousmatics, Experimental electronica, Microtonal, Musique concrète, Avant-garde/

Comment: ELoR is a Spanish duo consisting of Antony Maubert and Edith Alonso which started off in 2007. The recent album compiled of 4 long-running tracks is but a little more than an array of digital hisses and crackles. It is an example of digital metaphysics, a kind of aiming at re-creating a new system incorporating the elements of musique concréte, noise, microsounds, (modern) classical. Moreover, those minimally sounding stretched sounds (before developing into noise) do chime impressively haunting. Or some lone piano chords are laced with the voice of pigs. More generally, it is a crossroad between electro-acoustics/acousmatics, digital sound processing, and sound art.

Beats Antique - Collide (2008)

Bandcamp

8.4

/World music, Ethnic music, Ethnotronica, Remixes/

Comment: This album of 13 tracks is composed and arranged by Sidecar Tommy and David Satori who used to play many instruments on it. However, they are helped by many contributors who play more or less ethnic instruments. Indeed, here can be met upright electronic beats which are mixed up with shitloads of developments on diverse motives - veering from gypsy/Balkan music to the Middle East-centered warbles. Catchy and joyous.

Bwedge - Shrunken Head (2011)

Bandcamp
Mediafire

8.8

/New Weird America, Tropical pop, Free folk, Psychedelic pop, Alternative pop/

Comment: Such kind of sound was firstly evoked by Avey Tare & Panda Bear circa 10 years ago. It was then named as free folk, freak folk, New Weird America or a bit some way else (probably the biggest musical revolution during my life time). However, all things will be changing in time and space - so such sort of sound is re-named as tropical pop nowadays. The most important aspect at it is to see the connection between those abovementioned styles. More concretely, pleasantly bouncing rhythms, exultant voice lines, psychedelic conversation between synths and guitars. By the way, Shrunken Head is a very good album by one 19-year-old guy from the USA.

Muepetmo – Depression, Desperation, Emotional Pressure, Physical Pain, Anxiety, Financial Difficulties or Other Undesirable Situations (2010)

Psicotropicodelia
Jamendo

8.5

/Film noir, Classical, Experimentalism, Noise, Acousmatics, Crossover, Avant-garde, Electro-acoustic, Weird, Chamber music, Psych-music/

Comment: This is a release by a guy from Brazil made through some more or less weird-inflected points of view. Played up through harpsichords, harmonics, pianos, and clavichords. Indeed, it almost sounds like old music/baroque-relied classical music if someone were not able to have focus on noiseful snippets, reversed and heavy reverb-loaded sonic effects. It sounds almost "normal" though it is not "normal" at all. By the way, what does it mean "normal" at all? The issue must reflect upon hard life of the musicians in Brazil.

Nils Quak - On Sinking (2011)

Rural Colours
Bandcamp

9.2

/Ambient, Ambient noise, Shoegazetronica, Minimal, Experimental electronica, Dark ambient, Soundscapes/

Comment: Nils Quak is a musician from Cologne, Germany. By coming from the home city of the CAN, indeed it is such a fact which definitely does make difference. Yet, inspite of positive bias the 34-year-old Teuton`s soundscape makes vastly out on its own. In fact, at times it can even be compared to the sound of the legendary krautrockers, for instance, at Forever Fading throughout which one can perceive for some similar ambient-based vibrations and epic washes with Animal Waves (on Saw Delight, 1977). On the other side, it can be compared to Slowdive, Bowery Electric, and Bing Satellites as well. The kick-off track Please Let Me Rest is set into an "unstable" environment and thereby illuminated with borealic white heat. The second track A Rusting Down continues principially the same array of sounds, yet having acquired some minimal changes through a little more murky tonality in addition to fingerpicked guitars in the background. There Will Be No Harm is a contemplative vision brought forth via barely ringing glitch-like clinks and tremendously minimized flux of sonic particles. Altogether, a solid workout in the realm of experimental ambient music.

The Stereomovers - Waiting

Los Fusilados - Los Fusilados (2010)

Los Fusilados

8.6

/Agit-punk, Anarcho-punk, Punk rock, Psychobilly, Garage rock, Experimental rock, Blues rock, Spoken word/

Comment: This 16-track release is an example of truesomely exorcized agit-punk coming from Chile, from the South America, from a continent, which used to be one of the most revolutionary places all around the world during the last six decades at least. Indeed, the album seems to be presented without any compromises and courtesies, sung or manifested in Spanish either. The soundscape is filled with dizzy psychobilly and blues rock undercurrents, providing lots of key and pace changes within it. Unlikely to the punk music, they used to exploit the kind of snippets played up with harmonicas, making restraint sound-art and "covering" (i.e replaying/sampling) electronic dance music and Grease for once.

The Easton Ellises - EP One (2011)

Enough Records
Lastfm

9.0

/Nu rave, Alternative dance, Alternative rock, Indie dance, Electro-rock, Synth rock/

Comment: Alexandre Dionne aka Alex D and Simon Roy, a couple of residents from Montrèal, Quebec, were previously known as The Stereomovers (2000-2010) mixing up rock music with danceable beats. Moreover, beyond of it, before or in the meantime of the group`s activities they have practised sonic enterprises based on punk rock, trance beats and house music. Whatsoever, as a proof to their huge experience-based past the duo continues with their amalgamative manipulations on rock and very seesawing rhythms. Indeed, this 5-track issue is a crafty blend of sequencer-backed beats and hooks, high-energized nu rave aspirations and intoxicating harmonies. E-rock, as Alex & Simon have themselves described their sound. Although I am not used to be an idle proponent of the nowadays dance music, EP One makes really hugely sense. Good job, dudes.

Greenland Is Melting - Our Hearts are Gold, Our Grass is Blue (2011)

Greenland Is Melting
Bandcamp

8.5

/Bluegrass, Alt-country, Folk, Crossover, Southern music, Punk folk/

Comment: This is a trio from Gainesville, Florida, consisting of Karl Seltzer, Will Dueease, and Shaun Pereira. They mainly do play a upbeat folk/country music with some influences of punk, vaudevillian appearances, bluegrass, and brass music. All is played on a variety of diverse instruments like banjo, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, pedal steel, harmonica, trumpet, bass drum and fiddle. The lyrics represented here do tend to carry more or less careless attitude upon the bittersweet minutiae of life (talking about lingering, finding themselves shelter around here and there, the heaviness of being sober etc). In a nutshell, this is a romantic publication played out in the vein of the Southern music tradition. A honest soundscape indeed.

Wladysław Komendarek - Chronowizor (2011)

NoEcho

9.8

/Progressive, Kosmische Musik, Synth music, Astral dance, Progressive rock, Electronica, Improvised music, Chillout, Fusion, Easy listening/

Comment: Władysław Komendarek (born 1948) can be named as the Polish Edgar Froese (I really hope he does not mind about my statement), who started off as the keyboard player in the line-up of Polish symphonic rock/progressive rock combo Exodus for almost four decades ago. Upon the termination of the group`s activities in 1983, however he has frequently been referred as one of the leading Polish electronic musicians thereafter. On some pictures, he looks out like a crazy hippie behind the wide board of the analogue equipment (Moog synths). Though, not only his outlook used to be welcome - his attitude toward the music is integral, lush and ravishing. Lots of uplifting cosmic synth overthrows, electro/synth rock gears, progressive rock, astral dance music (somewhat similar to deep house, for instance), electronic fusion, near-soundtrack appearances. Regarding his professionalism, this whole of 9 tracks ( most of the tracks are long-running ones) is craftily arranged which in a more concrete sense thought does have a clear-cut vision and complete accomplishment. I think for everyone coming from the Soviet block, indeed such kind of soundscape does conjure up many hazy but good memories stemmed mainly from the sci-fi and youth films. Yet, first of all, it is a gem by the standards of progressive music/krautrock/fusion.

Plusplus - Broken Boiler

Yall - GUM single (2011)

Mediafire
Lastfm

8.7

/Punk rock, Noise rock, Blues rock, Art-punk, Crust punk/

Comment: Yesterday I got this submission by this US-based collective... . I like their frenzy energy and the dense noodling on guitars and drums channelized into the form of crust punk/noise rock or something in-between of that. It rings out as if a jam session coming directly forth from a rehearsal room. Only 2 short-running tracks are represented here - the first of them, GUM, kicks off as a blues-coated one, which soon will be dropped into the hell-ish chase "embellished" with overlapping sound shit in the backdrop in the ending part. The second track um gets embodied as mesmerizing through the catchy repetition of a elliptically shaped drum gear. All in all, it is an example how one somewhat style-related punk rock should be templated for - very destructive, wonky and rotten, getting inverted in its madness. Indeed, it is is not a love song.

Chevalier Avant Garde - Selectronic from Montreal (2011)

Beko DSL

8.6

/Post-psychedelic electronica, Electro-indie, Electro-rock, Glo-fi, Lo-fi, Experimental indie, DIY/

Comment: Dimitri sings and Filip plays the guitar... . A duo from Montrèal, Quebec, Canada, providing a pair of songs which are obviously influenced by the nowadays chillwave/glo-fi aesthetics and the first attempts in the realm of electronic rock/indie like The Silver Apples by the end of 60`s either. The 2-headed single starts off with Toy, which is sustained by heavily bounding, high-frequencied sequence machines (the recent beat music, isn`t?) which later, in the second track Sixteen Candles, will be converted into the sort of mid-tempo, a little drowsy sound. But thumbs up anyway. It might freely be possible that the duo will be famous in 2012, for instance.

The New Mystikal Troubadours - Second Spring (2011)

Free Music Archive
Mt6

9.7

/Psych-folk, Trance rock, Experimental indie, Drone folk, Psychedelia, Avant-rock, Avant-folk, New Weird America, Free folk/

Comment: Second Spring is the duo Dave Gibson (Agrarians) & Matt Perzinski (Bad Liquor Pond)`s sophomore outing (after the self-titled debut album in 2009). Anyway, such kind of psychedelic (folk) music makes most of the times subtly out. No doubt, the duo is able to straddle diverse elements into a seamless blend of psychedelia, drone folk, and psych-folk. But you can get intoxicated on guitar strums and halo-like washes within and around it. In true, experimental folk seems to be their most but not just only realm to get steps into it. At times it reminds of the trance rock incantations by wizards like Jason Pierce (Spacemen 3; Spiritualized) and Peter Kember aka Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3; Experimental Audio Research; Spectrum) or warblely exorcized indie folk songs a la Animal Collective or contemplative drone folk groups like Children Of The Drone, and Natural Snow Buildings. In a nutshell, this is a highly synergic set of 12 tracks and it can be considered a manifesto for beauty in music and universally either. One of the best albums during 2011 so far - by this shamelessly underrated group.

F.S.Blumm/Lucrecia Dalt – Cuatro Covers (2011)

La bèl

9.3

/Folktronica, Cowbell indie, Avant-folk, Krautrock, Experimental folk, Chamber folk, Dream folk/

Comment: This collaborative act between F.S Blumm and Lucrecia Dalt is just more than mesmerizing - it is quite hard to search for a more proper sentence to describe the result. One`s can detect for elaborated guitar chords, semi-tones and fully fragmented light, adjacent to the organic electronic imprecation which is brought forth through repetitive loops (moreover, acquiring even krautrock-ish characteristics at times) and gently rising progressions, all of that reaching out from the subtle glockenspiel touches to noiseful guitar explorations, from quasi-orchestrated developments to drowsy fingerpicked magic. In a nutshell, a subsequent folk-related instance under the La bèl label.

Fescal - Into The Atmosphere (2011)

Test Tube
Lastfm

9.5

/Drone, Minimalism, Avant-garde, Dark ambient, Epic, Microtonal, Sound art, Soundscapes/

Comment: Fescal, a UK-born but now in the South Korea residing musician provides an astonishing set of 5 tracks relied on the profound explorations of droning soundscapes. Indeed, it is quite hard to realize out where reality could be distinguished from possible fictive vistas. As Fescal`s brand used to be to date, all is enveloped with a tight mass of tape hisses, making all the content ring out really subtle and organic. If to try to convert the recent impression into rock music and to find out the equivalent for it, however, it might be considered dream pop, for instance. In any cases, such kind of dreamscapes cannot be transcended upon the frames of time and space. It is rather a kind of mental level, though.

Mobyl - The Pact EP (2011)

17 Sons
Jamendo
Lastfm

8.5

/Minimal techno, Tech-house, Avant-techno, Experimental techno, Bubblegum techno/

Comment: As we know very well one of the intentions by the French-based label 17 Sons used to be releasing catchy techno music among other genres. However, I really get involved in listening to this 4-track EP, which is a crossroad of Autechre-like intellectual techno (dynamic breaks seem to be a bit corroded and angular) and bubblegum-mish yo-yo-tech-house appearances. There can be perceived for propulsive up-and-down filtered cadences, drilling machine-like grooves, swelling-squealing sonic effects. Less is more - this would be a motto of the issue. It almost sounds like someone`s life observed through the spectrum of a stroboscope.

Good Dangers - Brasilia