Lizard Kisses - Tiny Island Teeth (2011)

Cakes & Tapes
Lastfm

9.7

/Alt-folk, Dream folk, Indie folk, Americana, Folk indie, Baroque folk, Experimental indie, Art pop, New Weird America/

Comment: heck, my heart got broken once again...they made it again...indeed, once again listening to this Brooklyn-based girl-boy ensemble I got profoundly bewitched and satisfied with those bottomless bittersweet feelings and stings in the chest. More detailly, Cory Siegler & Marc Merza`s sound is filled with austere soundscape yet it is so fantastically accentuated and spiced out with other segments (found sounds, Balkan music themes, theremin-afforded screeches) that this makes your day. By the way, this time the duo is assisted by a handful of contributors. One of the best issues of 2011 so far (where are the reviews by Pitchfork, Drowned In Sound and other such sort of juggernauts?).

Thierry Massard - 15 minutes of fame (2011)

Bandcamp

9.2

/Noise, Microtonalism, Minimalism, Sound art, Experimentalism, Avant-garde/

Comment: the French noisenik/experimentalist/netaudio activist/philosopher Thierry Massard is back with his brand new one. He initially embarked on with sound mastering in the late period of 70`s creating it with the help of ubiquitous and less conventional music devices/and non-instruments. These 10 short-running tracks play on the experienced shifting inbetween silence and noise, inbetween ominous progressions and barely audible microtonalism, inbetween sonic effects and "fictional" scapes. The album is obligatory for those guys and gals who used to be keen on "heavy" experimental electronic music. An inspiral listening indeed.

Radix - Autopsy (2009)

Modicum Of Silence
Mediafire
Lastfm

9.5

/Ambient, Breakbeat, Ambient techno, Glitch ambient, Glo-fi, Experimental electronica, Downtempo/

Comment: enthralling broken beats wrapped up by dense yet blissed-out atmosphere do make this album really worth always to be remembered for. More profoundly, the beat structures veers away techno, breakbeat, jungle, downtempo, however all these rhythm structures are coated with darkly glistening synths this way rather being a part of the glo-fi/chillwave music scene. Released on the Modicum Of Silence label which once domesticated such outstanding musician as Brothertiger, a melody maker widely known in the circuits of the chillwave/glo-fi scene at the moment.

Bugotak - Thunder Dance

Vektroid - Telnet Erotika (2010)

Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.5

/Glo-fi, Chillwave, Electronic pop, Dreamwave, Electro pop, Sampledelic, Alternative dance, Hygnagogic pop/

Comment: permanently struggling dream-soaked grooves, warped electro layers, acid-fried pop sensibility, whimsical sonic effects, however, thus having a very crucial impact upon you, dear listener. Samples tend to come in and go out, thereby resulting in the eternal rotation of moods and ambiences. This is what we used to call as "nowadays pop music". And of course, it is really sexy, yet allowing no opportunity to vulgarize itself and those peoples subjected to it.

Tidy Kid - Toxic Feelings (2010)

Umor-rex
Lastfm

9.3

/Indietronica, Folktronica, Dream folk, Toytronica, Experimental folk, Crossover, IDM, Organic electronica, Lo-fi/

Comment: Tidy Kid has been active since the mid of 00`s providing titillating electronic shapes and shadows. 7 tracks of angular folk songs which are heavily undermined with sparkly IDM-based oscillations and lovely childish setups of chord shackles. Occasionally the album is filled in with intimate, dream-infiltrated approach (Toy Plane In Ice). Indeed, Tidy Kid is still able to avoid for being formulaic and predictable.

Kapala - Moon Rivers (2011)

Bandcamp

9.2

/Psych-rock, Drone rock, Experimental rock, Avant-rock, Post-metal, Psychedelia, Stoner rock/

Comment: a decently droning psych/stoner-rock issue from Phoenix, Arizona, USA. The total embodiment of massively resonating guitars and psychedelic organs/spatially radiating electronica will be ascending into a whole as if being a part of a weird sort of symphony music. Such sound does have a bunch of kindred souls from the past and today (Talbot, Lee Noble, Silver Apples, Flora, Nadja, Spacemen 3).

Trudgernaut - You Won`t Come Around

cИстра - All My Friends Were Dead (2011)

Mimonot
Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.3

/Alternative pop, Dream pop, Soft rock, Covers, Electronic pop/

Comment: great 3 tracks from Khabarovsk, Russia. You can find out from there some sort of sensible chart-appealed indie pop with some dance vibes and new wave-esque influences a la the late period Talk Talk running its post-rock path through the erstwhile shapes of synth pop. You can feel such kind of feeling while listening to their cover version of Dubstar`s Stars.

pEACEFANg - pEACEFANg EP (2010)

No-Source

9.0

/Folktronica, Dream folk, Indietronica, Post-folk, Chamber folk, Electronic, Organic electronica, Dream pop, Experimental folk, Art pop, Ambient pop/

Comment: by the download numbers at Archive.org pEACEFANg`s EP at the moment is being the most popular personal issue having ever been issued on No-Source, an American qualitative sonic brand. Lots of less lucid or more dream-filled subtleties can be found from here. Behind it is an American, A. Fischer, conjuring up on an acoustic guitar and Casio CT-310 synthesiser to getting a  change smoothly from one phase to another, from halcyon guitar-based pastels to beatific synthesised soaring to emotive glockenspiel interventions, thirdly all of that seems to be seamlessly intertwined while meeting each other. It may even remind of Slowdive's Pygmalion in its most quiet moments. Is it an example of artsy mood music? Indeed, it is. Predominantly it is slowed-down and buried yet it does not turn into a lethargic one. By its content it is a greatly uplifting and tranquil mixed release exploring the valences of mellow electronica/ambient, folk and indie.

Sobre A Máquina - Areia (2011)

Sinewave

9.2

/Fusion, Post-metal, Experimental rock, Avant-rock, Improvised music/

Comment: Sobre A Máquina is a Brazilian experimental combo delivering their second issue Areia, a follow-up to Decompor. Their instrumental approach is built on massive guitar dominance poisoned with piano chords, resonating mazes of noises, programmed beats, altogether gathering the enthralled ambience around those abovementioned sonic constituents. Yet, it goes far beyond the borders of post-rock and industrial rock, permitted to land somewhere inbetween post-metal and fusion (saxophone!) and dark wave. I recommend listen to Flora`s Trip (2010), and Wreck And Reference`s Black Cassette (2011) as well.

Alpha Couple - A Walk In Central Park

The Stalactites - Dark Matters (2011)

Bandcamp

8.8

/Instrumental rock, Post-rock, Chamber rock, Experimental rock, Epic/

Comment: instrumental post-rock embellished with the fringes of chamber rock/classical/symphonic music. 11-track issue does have lots of festal moments crafted by Johnny Benoit, Sophie Hebbelynck, and Rudy Hellio. Guitars, drums, and violins are their friends.

Adriano Orrù – Hèsperos (2011)

La bèl

8.7

/Chamber music, Improvised music, Experimentalism/

Comment: Adriano Orrù provides six tracks all played with the help of a double bass and some additional devices. Actually it is much more above you than usual chamber music used to represent cutting edges for. More profoundly, it is filled in with frenetic jam sessions which ultimately seems to be intricate and highly energized.

Lullatone - Growing Up

Lullatone - Growing Up from lullatone on Vimeo.

Marc Broude - Noise Improvisation

Catherine Corelli - Take Da Jive (2011)

Jamendo

8.8

/Art pop, Crossover, Downbeat, Hip-hop, Symphonic metal, Soul, Electronic pop, Pomp pop/

Comment: Catherine Corelli from Moscow, Russia is back again. Her new release is a frenetic hotchpotch of diverse genres veering away gothic symphony-induced mist and and fragile soul and swinging funk and whimsical art/chamber pop. Some downbeat and jazz-like numbers are settled over here either. Certainly CC`s tricky and variable (vocal) timbres are highly enjoyable and filled in with vast passion, however, frequently manipulating with her own listeners. The closure track C#Stars is well elaborated and sensually expressive. All in all, it is a spectacular 12-track enterprise thought principially for everyone.

Bizarre - Cafè De Flor (1996/2008)

Bizarre
Forwards
Rahva Raamat

10.0

/Dream pop, Shoegazetronica, Chamber pop, Electronic pop, Experimental indie, Art pop, Crossover, Alternative pop/

Comment: Tartu indie combo Bizarre`s Cafè de Flor is absolutely favorite album of mine ever made on the ground of Estonia. It was issued in 1996, during the tumultuous period in the midst of 90`s when the Estonian indie/alternative scene reached its peak (Dallas; Metro Luminal; Dreamphish; Chance; Vennaskond; Lobsand Dorje; Una Bomba) but this 8-track album was just an idiosyncratic gem. Furthermore, I have had a loads of bittersweet memories related to this album (initially issued as the cassette format only) from these nostalgic times. How would it be described for? It is very simple actually - you could imagine it as a possible and logical follow-up to MBV`s seminal album Loveless. More profoundly, lots of sultry dance beats, gooey jungle pathways, picturesque dream pop-ish overthrows, formidable yet heartbreaking guitar waves and glides, sensual and seductive vocal lines above it function to glimpse like a Morgan le Fay or a blissed-out flashback. Every piece on it does have potent virtue on its own - the issue is a never-to-be-forgotten legacy conveying the harmony between the realm of idea and shape. One of the biggest albums of 90`s and all times waiting to be appreciated in the future.

Bob Ostertag - Motormouth (2011)

Free Music Archive

9.5

/Abstract techno, Experimental electronica, Breakbeat, Conceptual, Avant-garde, Experimental techno, Minimal techno/

Comment: legendary academically trained electronic music composer Bob Ostertag (born in 1957) is back with his brand new one. Here are represented 10 tracks based mainly on propulsive, thudding bass gears which by its structure are quite restraint, however, playing the effect through the merest changes and craftily hidden basic algorithms. All in all, it is a sort of intellectual techno and adhesively experimental breakbeat-ism thought for those melomans who used to adore the sound by Autechre, Future Sound Of London, and Aphex Twin. By the way, all the sound is played up with the help of one modification of the legendary Buchla synthesizers.

Echelon Effect - Debris

Pumps - Pin in the Map (2011)

Death To False Hope
Bandcamp

8.2

/Happy punk, Pop punk, Hardcore punk, Easycore/

Comment: Pumps is a quintet from Brooklyn, Big Apple, pumping up the grids of pop punk and hardcore punk all of that mixed up together. More concretely, just shouting verses in chorus are flung out backed up by the hum of lots of noodling guitars. Very straightforward and without any surprises and compliments (except one man desperately crying "f.ck you" at City of the Damned).

United Consumer Fuckers - Prepare For Revolution (2011)

Anonymous Archives
EnoughRecords
Lastfm

9.0

/Mash-up, Plunderphonics, Cut and paste, Sound collage, Conceptual/

Comment: a challenging political manifesto by an unknown artist who is intended to step against the worsening situation pertaining of economical and moral situation and political decisions in Europe and elsewhere in the world. The album functions to create a cutting mix of diverse artists and albums, all of that is managed to create fifteen short-running tracks. It veers away golden age disco, post-punk, electronic pop, hip-hop, and even hair rock-ish noodling. The timespan of recycled tracks extends from 1968 to 2009. By the way, this is the first record issued on the EnoughRecords`s sublabel Anonymous Archives.

Puffin On My Side - Lech-Lecha (2011)

Inglorious Ocean

9.4

/Post-rock, Epic, Instrumental rock, Ambient, Ambient rock, Chamber rock/

Comment: Puffin On My Side is a solo project of the Rome-based Alessio Mecozzi who is known as a member of the rock group Mokadelic. In fact, similarly to Mokadelic this album of 5 tracks consists mainly of the elements of instrumental post-rock interwoven with atmospheric plateaus, amusing spoken word interludes and attaining its objective with dream-charged milieus. All I can say about it is just amazing. The album is a dignified sequel to the issue Early Morning (2009). In addition to Inglorious Ocean I recommend listen to artists released on such labels as Futurerecordings, Dedicated, and Wise Owl.

Transhuman Apocalypse - Ambient Anonymous (2011)

Silent Strikes - 27/Infinit (2011)

Bad Panda

9.0

/Post-rock, Downtempo, Crososver, Organic electronica/

Comment: Silent Strike is a combo from Bucharest, Romania conveying to us just a pair of notches - 27, and Infinit, respectively. It is a silentful ride along the paths of downtempo, post-rock, balmily buzzing synths, and providing a little glacial ambience strewed over the structures of picturesque scaffolds. However, Silent Strikes` kindred souls extend from Sigur Ros, and Mank to Orange Crush, and aAirial.

Saåad - It Was LP (2010)

Bandcamp

9.2

/Dark ambient, Dark wave, Sound art, Minimal, Ambient noise/

Comment: the Frenchman Romain Barbot`s sound is placed on hold somewhere inbetween ambient, dark wave, noisy ambient and sound-art-like aspirations (those sublimely undulating hiss doses around the main intentions of the record). Here are set up 7 tracks which are loftily stuttering ones with epic orchestration-afforded reverberations. Throughout the course it seems to be minimal, murky, and slightly threatening.

Mr. Spastic - Lucid (2011)

8bitpeoples

8.8

/8-bit, Chiptune, Tracker music, New Wave, Synth pop, Crossover, Bitpop/

Comment: synth pop/New Wave meets tracker/chiptune/8-bit music. Propulsive synth whiffs are supplemented with sawtooth-alike sonic fringes and dreamily glistening vocal supplies over it. By the new wave-ish side this set of 5 tracks reminds a little of David Sylvian`s group Japan, and Jef Barbara.

Mr. Spastic - tEh rOx!

Omara - Simultanmassakker (2011)

Omaramusic

9.2

/Industrial techno, Dub-tech, Experimental techno, Deep techno, Electro, Tekno/

Comment: I love the German Omara`s deep, gleaming grooves running in the repetitive vein of techno, tekno, electro, and dub which at times is wrapped up with the lopsided noisy and industrial-esque forays of post-krautrock music. All of that is played up in 3 long-running tracks which is thought for your spongy matter and for your legs. All the tracks are as similar as different yet, on the first place, craftily elaborated to make huge impact on the listener`s understanding and perception. Why? Because of having appealing, progressive mind throughout the course of the notches. However, Omara seems to be a happy man having ability to create such outstanding kind of music and owning its own record label.

Quell Figure - Roots (2011)

U-Torn

8.7

/Drum and bass, Jungle, Experimental techno, Experimental electronica, Breakbeat, Crossover/

Comment: the Russian Daniil Kasperovich`s 8-track album is influenced by intelligent dance music, sultry techno, off-kilter drum and bass/jungle and poignant breaks, this way reflecting upon its own progressions as well. However, the programmed beats are at times varied with brooding piano chords.

Proviant Audio - Mushrooms EP (2009)

Sojus Records Network

9.3

/Nu-jazz, House, Acid jazz, Afrobeat, Sampledelic, Cut and paste, Crossover, Sound collage/

Comment: during the last days I have reviewed lots of such sort of albums having its very point focused upon sampledelic basic, catchy trip-hop/hip-hop grooves. The Norwegian Mathias Stubø`s work (being then in the age of 17 years old) shows up much similarity with such kind of music, yet demonstrating more affinity toward catchy nu-jazz, psychedelic afrofuturism and looping house music. Furthermore, including peculiar spoken word lines (cigarette is a very democrate instrument). In conclusion, it is really expressive and impressive.

Johan Reinhold - Shoot Me Down

Bobby Baby - The Some Place New

Tim Chaplin - The '80's Girls EP (2008)

23 Seconds

9.2

/Covers, Singer-songwriter, Alt-folk, Indie folk, Folk indie, DIY/

Comment: the British singer-songwriter and experimental musician Tim Chaplin is covering a handful of hits from the 80`s. Here is Westworld`s Silver Mac, Kirsty MacColl`s They Don`t Know, Yazoo`s Only You, and Roxette`s It Must Have Been Love. Twanging guitars and convincingly accentuated are loftily wrapped up by lo-fi-esque intimate ambience and gritty hiss. Indeed, let`s break on through to the other side of those beloved songs.

Ars Sonor & Meklabor - Box of Matches (2011)

Eg0cide

9.4

/Drone, Ambient, Dystopbient, Ambient drone, Ambient noise, Soundscapes, Epic, Minimal/

Comment: this 4-track is an intricate compromise between lush ambient soundscapes and epic drone pulsation created by Laetitia Schteinberg (Ars Sonor), and D. Vlasov (Meklabor) who are supported by the well known drone musician Mystified ( playing flute) in one track. More concretely, the album is a majestic drift between bleak and whistling sonic plateaus, as if murmuring its wishes over the metallic landscapes and wrathful hills. Great.

ShakySuperFly - Don't Sweat the Neon Fever (2011)

Dystopiaq

8.8

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

Comment: 9 tracks which end up at the length of 21 minutes. More profoundly, all the tracks are cut up to the pieces of hip-hop, propulsive sultry samples, "accidental" spoken word snippets and primitivistic electronica. A solid reflection of the urban sampled tapestry.

Bus Stop Dreams - The Kiss

Keep away from heat... - des notes de clementines (2008)

Rack & Ruin

9.0

/Post-rock, Crossover, Electronic pop, Electro-indie, Alternative, Experimental pop/

Comment: Predrag Nedic is a Belgrade, Serbia-based recording artist better known as pndc and member of the former electro-ambient duo Erogenius. Here are represented 3 tracks walking on the borders of post-rock-ish scaffolds and pulsating electronic indie-esque sultriness, thus showcasing its remarkable pop potential and appealing power. By any means, it is a very interesting issue. However, let`s continue discovering the gems under now defunct Rack & Ruin records.

LFC - Asschoes (2010)

pCloud

9.0

/Industrial, Avant-garde, Dystopbient, Minimal, Noise, Experimentalism, Ambient noise, Non-music/

Comment: as you know the music history has permanently been the field for weird musical ideas and outlooks to be appeared and poisoned the mainstream correctitude. If you are listening for to get impressed by the sonic whirlwinds and bleak landscapes of LFC you will perceive the impact of 70`s nihilistic industrial music for sure. More detailly, behind this 10-track set you can see the destructive and constructive power units simultaneously. For instance, at times you can detect for the seeds of The Art Of Noises manifesto, declared by Luigi Russolo, one of the forefathers of the contemporary noise and electronic music. LFC takes up so seriously that all its sonic structure is incessantly bumping and shaking. In conclusion, the whole is heavily appealing for sure. In a nutshell, dystopian wastelands are waiting for your listening times.

Thompost - Muffled (2011)

Elpa

9.5

/Post-rock, Indietronica, Organic electronica, Experimental folk, Folktronica, Experimental indie, Art pop/

Comment: every artist under this sun (and under the other possible suns either) has its genuine vision and speech to describe the world or at least some parts of it. Thompost provides a sublime indie/folk/post-rock vista where organic string-based layers are craftily embellished with the fringes of electronica and some ebullient orchestrated beauty over it. Furthermore, all the concept is built on the contrast of rough and sparse yet expressive patterns and on the other side pertaining of flowing fairness and throbbing sensitiveness. At times it seems to be quicker, at times it is more restraint, yet, most of the time it gets attention from the listener. This 11-track masterpiece is issued on an eminent label from Latvia, called as Elpa.

Madame B - I`m Sorry That I Hate You

Juj - Slack (2010)

Wedidit
Lastfm

9.2

/Sampledelic, Cut and paste, Sound collage, Plunderphonics, Urban sound, Trip-hop, Hip-hop, Soul/

Comment: Juj comes from Santa Cruz, California, having produced a sublime 16-track album where hip-hop meets trip-hop which onwards meets cinematic soul and...sunshine. Actually there is left no hollow sense inbetween those mainly short-running notches, all the possible slots are covered with cozy sampledelic outreaches and synergical sampling techniques. His oeuvre can be compared to the likes of Rimar, Ears, Phaseone, kIRk, and htrspltn. Additionally to these names Juj is having a handful of label mates at Wedidit Collective either.

The Vitrines - Utopian Lapses (2010)

Slow Studies

9.0

/Dystopbient, Noise, Dark ambient, Lo-fi, Ambient noise, Experimentalism, Soundscapes, Avant-garde, Hauntology, Sound-art/

Comment: in fact, all the sound seems to be running and running in the compartments of dystopian and utopian fantasies whereby all the basic aspects and minutiae are deliberately positioned to stay very far from the imaginable subjects and all the ambience above it is filled in with somehow billowy, restraint horror. The 8-track album embarks on with the abrasive bits of noise progressions which throughout the course will be a little bit toned down thus being channelized into more ambient-esque approach (on the other side, having the sound of essentially rough and provocative because of being decorated with any kind of sonic trash and thus providing the withstood to the usual understanding of ambient music). All in all, it might be perceived as an imperfect one in the beginning, yet thanks to it the issue does demonstrate its hitting power.

Beko DSL - Crashsymbols (2011)

Beko DSL

9.0

/Synthwave, Post-punk, Dark pop, Art pop, Shoegaze, Experimental indie, Dreamwave/

Comment: a sequent glittering miscellany by the French label Beko DSL. These 13 tracks used to veer from rigid post-punk and synthwave to shoegaze and lush dreamwave. Here are represented the likes of Hobbledeions, Abstract Cannon, Bonifrate, Rimar, Kumon Plaza, Sumsun, Antn Hrkwk, Noah Wall, Two Bicycles, Bong Rodent, Shuriken, Phil and the Osophers, Monster Rally, Daniel Sex Jr., Moon Bounce, Pregnant, Honeydrum, and Flamingod. Indeed, the compilation might make your day.

Matt Stevens - Intermission

Green Like July – Two cover songs by Green Like July (2011)

Bad Panda

8.8

/Cover, Alt-country, Southern rock/

Comment: just 2 cover songs are uploaded there. Crippled Inside (John Lennon), and September Gurls (Big Star). The last of these notches is the big preference of mine. While the trio comes from Italy their ideological standpoint seems to be closely related to the US-based root and southern pop/rock. In conclusion, slightly psychedelic organ-afforded country songs make huge impression on the listener.

Valery & The Greedies - Where's Satan? (2011)

Clinical Archives

9.8

/Punk funk, Post-punk, Alternative dance, Dance rock, Art rock, Disco, Alternative, Experimental rock/

Comment: punksters have always loved to dance and abandon their bodies to grooves. All of that embarked on once at Hacienda headed by such groups as Joy Division, Section 25, A Certain Ratio. On the other side, at the same time in the USA were some groups living up to the melomans` expectations, for instance, James Chance & Contortions, and ESG. However, the Petrozavodsk/Petroskoi, Russia-based quartet Valery & The Greedies revivifies and revamps this glorious dance rock/dance punk tradition, making it out in a very eminent way. Indeed, Where`s Satan? is one of the best groove rock albums I have listened throughout the 00`s and 10´s. And you are used to think that the Klaxons is a good one... .

Christian Galarreta - Computer Music Is Dead (2011)

Free Software Series

9.0

/Noise, Drone, Experimental electronica, Avant-electronica, Drone noise, Microtonal, Sound-art, Electro-acoustic/

Comment: this is a 2-track album by a Peruvian laptop musician who provokes and reconstructs the very core of electronic (computer) music. Or at least our imagination of it. Incessantly buzzing drones, static yet tense electricity and a shitloads of phase changes, drilling noiseful ghosts are represented here as if gigantic butterflies striking with their wings above the maelstrom of bits and bites. In fact, it almost rings out like an instance of noise symphony chalking out a picture of the cemetery of dead computers. Of computers within the sound is ceased to chime.

awaycaboose - Glencarse Jam

Rob Bridgett - Arkhives (2008)

Rack & Ruin

9.3

/IDM, Experimental electronica, Dubstep, Ambient, Jungle, Experimental, Breakbeat, Epic, Ambient dub/

Comment: behind this project is Rob Bridgett, a Canadian based composer and sound director. Here are represented 13 diverse tracks veering from lofty ambient dub and epic dark-hued steps to intellectual dance music to rattling, thudding breakbeats to bewitching jungle maze. On the other side, Black Lodge sounds like drone/weird folk-alike appearance. Such sort of music does have as similar relation to the rhythms of club dance as post-rock-ish energy used to have a spot upon the adult oriented rock music. This issue belongs to such sort of releases yet waiting its time to be glorified decorously in the future.

Les Enfants Sales - V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (2011)

Zorch Factory
Lastfm
Madame B

9.6

/Art punk, No wave, Avant-garde, Dark wave, Apocalyptic folk, Neofolk, Post-punk, Noir, Experimental rock, Noise rock, Gothic punk, Crossover/

Comment: Les Enfants Sales is anything but ordinary. The French band consists of Chris Zèro, and Madame B, the latter of them has been very profilic in her doings, who, by any means, could be compared with such outstanding vanguard-ish (female) punkers as Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Lydia Lunch, and Linder. This 10-track album showcases a brooding art punk/no wave/gothic punk/cutting edge post-punk approach, yet on the other side having murky flirtations with apocalyptic folk/dark wave-esque muses. More detailly, those slowed-down incantations are craftily varied with noisy mayhems, in the midst of it Madame B used to intone or even groan her wraithful manifestations. Furthermore, the closure track Exi ab eo is a martial anthem centered around Zèro`s angst-filled shouting, Madame B`s reverberations, all of that assisted by medieval flute whiffs and ghastly sounding theremin. A superb issue indeed. This is our punk rock for sure.

Diym - Nine (2011)

Diym

8.6

/Alt-folk, Singer-songwriter, Indie folk, Dream folk, Alternative pop/rock, Soft rock, Folk indie,Dance rock, Electro-rock/

Comment: this is already the ninth compilation by the Diym label. Here are represented such artists as 4our5ive6ix, Revolt at the Robot Factory, Five Star Debauchery, John Burns, Lothian 121, The Orange Strips, and Pete Davis. The miscellany has its focus stretched out from introspective alternative folk ditties to mainstream-appealed heavy guitar riff-based songs, from dance rock/new wave/electro-rock grooves to soft rock/bombastic pop scopes to dream folk appearances.

Evil Men Have No Songs - Home Tonight

Strange Shapes - Slow Sound/Mild Doubt (2011)

Bandcamp

9.0

/Alternative pop/rock, Art rock, Jangle pop, Indie rock/

Comment: mere 2 track-single by a quartet of Brooklynites. Especially the first of them, Slow Sound, is greatly bound up in harmony process and bubblegum cadences. These singles are surrounded by a touch somehow reminiscent of the aesthetics of the 70`s English new wave/art rock/post-punk bands (Echo & Bunnymen; Durutti Column, Teardrop Explodes). Somehow nostalgic and permanently elegant in its path. By the way, these notches were firstly recorded for the Japanese version of their EP.

Lovegrenade - Lovegrenade (2011)

Jamendo

Af-music
Bandcamp
Lastfm

8.5

/Garage rock, Alternative rock, Fuzz rock, Psychedelic rock, Rockabilly, Psych-rock/

Comment: three musicians from Tel Aviv reconvened in the rehearsal room to complete the debut album just in a 24 hour live session. However, the process seems to be succeeded in the very planned way. Dynamical garage rock base is embellished with some rockabilly touch, never to be functioning boring somehow. At times it reminds of Sonic Youth.

Sledding With Tigers - The Hill Sheep (2010)

Bandcamp
Mediafire
Lastfm

8.7

/Crossover, Punk rock, Country, Bluegrass, Folk, Vaudeville/

Comment: when this 8-track album was issued at the end of 2010, it consisted of two members only - Dan Faughnder (guitar, banjo, mandolin, vocals), and Sam Juneman (violin, vocals). Although the album/combo is already compared with Andrew Jackson Jihad, Bright Eyes, and Defiance Ohio, this issue with short-running tracks takes on a brutally amusing crossbreeding of Southern-rooted styles (country, bluegrass, vaudeville folk) and on the other side, punk rock/easycore. And the coverprint is impressive. Spectacular.

Without Time – Trap (2011)

Dystopiaq

8.8

/Post-rock, Epic, Alternative pop/rock, Post-metal, Crososver, Experimental rock/

Comment: Without Time are Sasha Kondrashov and Yan Kolomytsky from Grodno, Belorussia who offer one, 6-minute track Trap. Posture-filled majestic rock/metal drive is ornamented with melancholic piano-headed frames and enjoyable guitar warbles in the midst of the track. And of course, the coverprint is nice.

JLA - Lobotomy (EP MIX)

Sam Gas Can - Summer Of Sam (2011)

Sam Gas Can
Free Music Archive

9.0

/Primitive music, Lo-fi, DIY, Experimentalism, Noise, Sound collage, Free folk, New Weird Belorussia, Improvised music, Freeformfreakout, Psych-music/

Comment: Sam Gas Sam is an eccentric sound creator from Belorussia who has headed the label Faux-Pas Industries. (And making mistakes since 1986!). Actually such sorts of rough approaches has always had huge impact on me, more detailly, using amusing samples, abstract buzzes and sheer noise, rusty anti-folk-ish twanging, free improvised unplugged record sessions and...and of course, a shitloads of "errors". Furthermore, all the soundscape is heavily lopsided, sharing lots of hints right and left, up and down. Its madness used to veer from Einstürzende Neubauten to Vierivä Viiksiportieri. These 11 tracks constitute an enjoyable whole which is part of the New Weird Europe scene. Viva la free spirit!

The Nightchild - Some Stories And Thoughts (2011)

Jamendo
Afmusic
Lastfm

7.8

/Gothic rock, Electro-rock, Synth rock, Post-punk, Alternative rock/

Comment: a pathetic dark pop/rock combo from Ukraine, consisting of Alexey Nightchild A (vocals, guitars, keyboard, programming) and Olga "Holy Cat" (bass guitar). Rigid bass/drums-driven progressions are the base for such kinds of explorations veering from gothic post-punk to brooding electro-rock to more Nightwish-esque pompous symphonic metal approach. Business as usual, yet, seems a little bit weary.

Art Boys Collection - Stoned Wall (1972/2011)

Golden Pavilion
Free Music Archive

9.2

/Art rock, Acid rock, Psychedelic rock, Psych-folk, Soul rock, Progressive rock, Proto disco/

Comment: Art Boys Collection was an Austrian (1969-1975) sextet who offers a delicious set of the blend of psych-folk, art rock, psychedelic rock, and progressive rock. Walter Holz`s organ-driven vibes are on the ball, variegating a bunch of (at times heavily jamming) guitars and sublime vocal mannerism round it. The chords and moods are craftily fixed there, resulting in as a spectacular whole. This 12-track issue reminds of the Canterbury scene, and 60`s angelic introspective folk ensembles a la Dulcimer. But not such obscure artists only. It takes on The Beatles, Queen, and even Motown`s proto-disco vibes as well. In a foreign country, and Jesus said had big potential to blow off the charts. This amazing album was initially recorded in 1972.

Omara - Schubfaktor

Dreamphish - Garlic Icecream (1997)

Bandcamp

10.0

/Experimental indie, Art pop, Dream pop, Alternative pop, Indie pop, Art punk, Shoegaze, Post-rock/

Comment: Dreamphish was one of the foremost Estonian indie pop/rock bands with Dallas, Bizarre, and Borax in the second half of the 90`s. Their debut album Garlic Icecream (released on the cassette format only) rings out even today in an idiosyncratical and vanguard-ish way. While the quintet`s irresistible compositions are based on conventional yet majestic song structures it is spliced up with more uncompromising progressions - trip-hop-relied shadows, naughty punk rock, lofty shoegaze forays, and darkly gleaming post-rock-ish outer space. You can perceive the connections with Pulp, Stereolab, Portishead, Sonic Youth... . Most of the time the 10-track album induces to be longing and looking so hopefully for the future. Indeed, it is a glorious chapter of the Estonian innovative pop/rock. Inspite of missing nostalgically for those old good times, however, the album chimes perfectly on its own. I recommend listen to their follow-up It Is I (2000) either.

Morbo y Mambo - Das Papier EP (2011)

Bandcamp

8.8

/Improvised music, Cool jazz, Fusion, Crossover, Psychedelic, Free jazz/

Comment: no doubt, this is a lush, spatial improvisation set by a sextet from Argentina. Cool jazz-approved trumpets, acid-fried stumbling synths, rattling drums function to take on frenzied grooves and psychedelic washes everywhere. Indeed, it is pleasantly perverted by language.

The Grey Field Project Names - Without Meanings (2011)

Mediafire
Lastfm

9.3

/Ambient, Avant-rock, Epic, Minimal, Soundscapes, Post-rock, Crossover, Ambient noise, Dark ambient, Experimental rock/

Comment: behind these ten exhilarating ambient rock explorations is Adam Kalamàr, a young musician from Tapolca, Hungary. Before starting to create such amazing sound he played in punk (The Extrended Crackers) and screamo/grindcore combo Who Told You This Room Exists. It is an epic and majestic one where clear-cut visions are tensely mixed up with unidentified hiss-buzz and murmuring noise and hazy droning and concrete sound-infiltrated developments. At times it turns out to be essentially abstract (9).

Brad Sucks - Look and Feel Years Younger

Laura K - ePop018 (2011)

Eardrums Pop
Lastfm

9.5

/Twee pop, Indie pop, Cover, Baroque pop, Experimental indie, Sunshine pop/

Comment: Eardrums Pop is back after a while with an amazing miscellany of 3 songs by Brisbane, Australia-born indie gal who has played in such groups as Little Scout, and Roman History. This case takes on amusingly strumming ukuleles, striking vocal harmonies, and chiming synths, thus constituting the organic whole. One of those songs is a cover version of Real Estate`s Beach Comber. By the way, Jarvis Cocker likes her music. Lucky you.

Videodreams - The World (2010)

Bandcamp

8.8

/Alternative pop/rock, Soft rock, Indie pop/

Comment: a nice set of 6 songs from Italy. More concretely, dreamy, a little bit lethargic vocal supply is supported by chiming guitars, colourful glockenspiel undercurrents and acidious synth fringes. The songs are masterfully spirited and soulful. All of that might remind of Coldplay, and Keane. In fact, the quartet do it even better.