Gazebo in a Lake - Hydra (2011)

Future Passed Free Music

8.6

/DIY, Primitive music, Electronic pop, Glo-fi, Weird pop, Electro, Lo-fi/

Comment: I tried to find out some info about Gazebo in a Lake but figured out he has hidden himself jelaously. Only a handful of albums are uploaded at Lastfm and upon it is added the sentence that Gazebo in a Lake is exactly where he will end up living if he quits his day job. By listening to this 9-track publication I got aware of ideas and patterns about the approach of him. In the first place, he creates a sort of primitive music using low-end techniques (for instance, you can detect the rhythms of a tiny Casio Tonebank), conjuring up clumsy beats and bits and at times blunt manner of singing. Yet, these aforementioned lines must not be misunderstood because his concept delineates the principle that less is more. For example, listen to the track The Retainer which fuses rough DIY tendencies with hypnagogic glimpses and shimmering electro surfaces. Or House of Plenty, a long-running opus filled with pop potential. Why it is sympathetic? It can be seen as opposed to the sort of sterile, hermetic and hence unsurprising (restricted) studio-based production displaying other modalities for recording either.

Mogadiscio Ensemble - Super Bone Bionde (2011)

Paragrafo

8.8

/Techno, Experimental techno, Industrial techno, Noise, Avant-electronica/

Comment: Mogadiscio Ensemble is a collective from Italy formed by Riccardo Nava (synths and noise effects in My Silver Booster and § as solo), and Riccardo Canta (keyboards and sax in Il Cubo di Rubik Monocromo, and Gonzo Caravan). They issued the debut issue Afro Affairs under the Karuso label in 2010. However, the duo`s brand new heavy comprises a pair of tracks which are imbued with defaced chopped-up breaks, dirty reversed loops, and gloomy layers above it. Noise-infiltrated compositions. All in all, the release is hirsute and bouncing, it is a sort of techno music, yet, thought for night clubs and chill out venues. Instead of it you can hark back to the traces of machines and the brothers Russolo`s legacy on it.

Ixtlan - Very Easy Is Wrong

East of Borneo - Larkspur Sessions (2011)

IYNGES
FMA
Lastfm

8.8

/Improvised music, Krautrock, Avant-industrial, Crossover, World music/

Comment: Lyn Goeringer (Theremin controlled synthesis), Michael DeQuattro (percussion and electronics), and Jim Moses (guitar and bass with electronics) do convey a 7-track set of improvised developments made up of some world music chips putting upon the realms of metal-coated industrial music and krautrock-ish propulsions. Furthermore, there is a very little to do with the music and genres coming out of the island Borneo/Kalimantan. Sometimes the trio`s co-operation does bear away over to more haunting results due to theremin, allegedly the first electronic instrument. Intriguing and intricate indeed.

New Animal - Still In Mind (2011)

Bandcamp

8.8

/Post-psychedelic electronica, Experimental indie, Lo-fi, Avant-pop, Alternative,DIY, Weird pop/

Comment: New Animal, an experimental indie duo (Kris Hermstad; Derek Burdette) from Atlanta, Georgia, USA issued the enthralling self-titled debut album at the beginning of 2011 mixing up NWA, post-psychedelic electronica, and indie pop. Upon it they released a 4-track EP, entitled Up!. There is a pair of new songs which does have focus upon more effect-laden rather than a more quotidian verse-centered one. Indeed, these blinking arrangements are imbued with "errors" trying to provoke and wake up the listener. The shape of the songs used to swell and decrease being embellished with blunt electronic effects, disjunctions and repetitive clicking noises above and below it. Mostly below it.

Shirubi Ikazuchi - Warsoul (2011)

Shirubi Ikazuchi
Lastfm

8.6

/Electronic pop, Pomp pop, Trip-hop, Downtempo, Alternative, Alternative dance/

Comment: Shirubi Ikazuchi is just one chapter in a long array of the Estonian female musicians surfaced during the last years. Maria Minerva, Possimiste, Spice Mouse, Queennaive are some innovative names who used to fuse murky/dreamy electronica, DIY-aesthetics, and arty psychedelia. Here are represented 10 tracks running in the vein of slightly dark-hued pop comprised mainly trip-hop/downtempo-induced paces and dramatically accentuated chords and layers, however, Shirubi`s resounding voice powerfully gliding above it. At times it reminds of Army Of Lovers, at times Bjork, at times Catherine Corelli. Indeed, it is bombastic and pretentious searching for to release its huge potentiality. For instance, Seizure is exactly such kind of notch very ready to poison the Eurovision Song Contest (the annual festival for wasting the money of the European tax-payers). By the way, the coverprint is intiguing because of resembling a little bit of Brett Anderson, the frontman of Suede.

Morphine Bandit - Wave Motions EP (2011)

Treetrunk

8.3

/Ambient drone, Ambient, Minimal, Microtonalism/

Comment: this 4-track album shuts down at the length of 28 minutes. Indeed, there is much space and time enough for long-running progressions to enter into the compartment of multiple sonic filters and phase generators where the cycles, oscillations and repetitions will be surfacing after a while. Behind those minimally evoking, hiss-loaded developments you can perceive minimal whirlpools, mostly shy of gravity and compelled to fall freely.

fydhws - Стакла

Gore Obsessed - Impetigo Tribute (2011)

Dis-Organ-Ized

9.2

/Covers, Death metal, Speed metal, Grindcore, Goregrind, Brutal metal/

Comment: Gore Obsessed does cover a pair of tracks for Impetigo, a cult grindcore/death metal band from Bloomington, Illinois, USA. However, the listener can perceive the seams and ruffles of death metal, speed metal, grindcore, and goregrind. Indeed, it is massive and painfully striking, undulating like the stench of a rabid monster dog.

Enmity - Murderabilia (2009)

Enmity

9.3

/Symphonic metal, Avant-metal, Metalcore, Experimental metal, Death metal/

Comment: Enmity is an intriguing and intricate sextet from South Africa who used to fuse deathcore with baritone-driven symphonic pannels and whimsical electronica and acidic synths, spoken word prominencies and programmed breaks. Indeed, it is a feuerwerk on the basis of offbeat metal music. The course spreads out over 12 tracks.

LFC & FCao - Parcerage (2011)

pCloud

9.0

/Psychedelic, Improvised music, Experimental rock, Alternative, Fusion/

Comment: in June, 2011 I reviewed the Brazilian combo LFC & FCao`s album Mesinha which used to fuse the shards and pieces of doom and black metal with improvised progressions and space rock-esque ceilings. However, this 8-track issue incorporates mainly psychedelic, improvised freeform music. More concretely, totally and half-totally piercing drums and kits are whimsically interlaced with the intense keyboard-relied shuffle and rough bass lines below it. Altogether, you don`t need much instruments to reflect masterfully upon diverse modalities in music.

Karibean - Down Before Xmas

Karibean - Down Before Xmas from Rockit on Vimeo.

Simon Waldram - Industrial Skyline (2011)

AReW Recordings

9.4

/Alternative rock, Guitar ambient, Experimentalism, Ambient drone, Crossover, Ambient, Experimental rock, Minimalism/

Comment: it is said that The River, a majestic 40-minute album, was motivated by the compositional approaches of CAN, and Miles Davis. Nearly an hour of improvised guitar was recorded, which was then chopped up, treated and re-arranged into one 20 minute piece of music. Maelstrom is meant to represent an overloading of the synapses before they gradually shutdown for good. While The River is a musical description of the landscape of an industrial city, Maelstrom is the inner journey of a person living in that same environment. If to unstitch all the whole you can see lots of minimal, loop-repeated units and minutiae, droning guitar buzz where you can perceive permanently evoked seams and phase changes - all the aforementioned elements are up here to meet sometimes with more traditional, guitar-driven rock compositions. All in all, it is a very positive outlet.

Hurricane Heart Attacks - Hurricane Love (2011)

Bandcamp

9.2

/Drone rock, Psychedelia, Alternative pop/rock, Surf rock, Art rock, Psych-rock, Experimental indie/

Comment: Hurricane Heart Attacks comes out of Argentina, offering an album of 13 tracks, entitled as Hurricane Love. Indeed, you can be sure the submission loves you so much. And vice versa, however, the issue will be loved by you so much as well. So much. It is down-tempo yet highly mesmerizing, involving the elements of psychedelic/drone rock a la Spacemen 3, and The Brian Jonestown Massacre and on the other side, it does have a slight Latin touch now and then(for instance, the influences of tango at El Radomante). Onwards, it takes on surf glidings either. By the way, the lyrics are sung in English. In a nutshell, it is a sort of rock music which is imbued with spiritual mechanisms.

Jeesh - Rare Candy

The Suadetones - Ultrasuade (1985)

Bob Chaos

9.2

/Covers, Alternative, Avant-garde, Weird pop, Lounge pop, Improvised music/

Comment: The Suadetones was a weird output under an off-kilter Muncie, Indiana-based label, Bob Chaos, being active from 1984 to 1988. The Suadetones comprised three members and even once shared the stage with Sonic Youth in Chicago (the crowd was very hostile toward them at a time, though). They issued 2 albums, however, all of that was recorded on tapes (this was an era lacking of computers and Pro Tools). One of them, getting reviewed at the moment, is a 24-piece cover-based publication. These are quite free-formed, even a little bit certifiable versions driven by Casio synths and reed organs representing the feeling of 80`s lo-fi/DIY/bedroom pop culture. Indeed, let`s take your time and listen to the covers of Moon River, New York New York, Yesterday, Goldfinger and many more pop culture gems.

Anika`s Basement Show - My Tambourine Hands Are On Fire (2011)

CLLCT

8.8

/Singer-songwriter, Americana, Alt-folk, Indie folk, Lo-fi, DIY, Folk indie/

Comment: here are uploaded 10 minutes spreaded out over a pair of introspections of a type of intimate, circumspect ones by a singer-songwriter with the assistance of facilities such as a guitar/strings, lone harmonica, suggestive vocal manner, and much ambiance surrounding all of that. By the way, it is entitled as late night lo-fi and comes out of the bottomless realm of Bloomington-based CLLCT.

Kairon; IRSE! - the Defect in that one is bleach / We're hunting wolverines (2011)

Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.0

/Post-rock, Progressive rock, Ambient rock, Art rock, Experimental rock, Epic, Alternative, Chamber rock/

Comment: Kairon; IRSE! is a quartet from Kaustinen, Finland who offers up high-octane post-rock explorations embellished with some progressive and art rock/chamber music and even "lazy" jazz tendencies (I adore the mandolin-alike vapour around the riffs of guitars). The backbone of the issue relies on the massive guitar-and-drum gravity or on the other side it is abandoned to run on a more dreamy path and ambiance. There are some wondrous progressions on it (Soroche; Девочка парит в воздухе). However, their aesthetics reminds a little bit of another Finnish post-rock combo, called Magyar Posse.

Stuart Newman - Feel the Temperature Rising

Johan Reinhold - Shoot Me Down (The Kill Van Kulls remix) (2011)

The Kill Van Kulls
Soundcloud

8.5

/Electronic pop, Electroclash, Electro-rock, Remixes, Electro pop, Alternative dance/

Comment: this is a remix version of Johan Reinhold`s track Shoot Me Down. Honestly, I like this version more than the original one because it used to toy with more uplifting synth sounds and dashing vectors wrapped up in relieving propulsion. However, all those sounds are incessantly shooted back-to-back for every second and breath of your soul.

Elisabeth Veldon/Luminous - untitled but still rather good (2011)

Bandcamp

8.8

/Noise, Psycho-acoustic, Non-music, Avant-garde, Ambient noise/

Comment: angsttttangsttttttank stankkkkkkssttttrhhhhhhhh trhhhhhhhhhtrhtrhrhrrhrrrrrr
//Smile?Smile!??!Smile!!!!!!Despairdespairdespairtrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr desspppppppppppp!!!! trhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhtrhhhhhhhhhhhhrttrthrttt!!!!!!!!! Eat yourself fitter??? Eat yourself fitter!!! Smile!!!!The soil is falling over my head!!!!!!! Zzzzzhheitggghheist shshsithhththhhhhh!!!!

Liquid Metal Fast Breeder - Scribs (2011)

Bandcamp

9.5

/Noise rock, Space rock, No Wave, Crust punk, Electronic, Psychedelic, Avant-rock, Psych-rock, Krautrock, Experimental rock/

Comment: just a pair of tracks are represented here by Shane Zweygardt who is a representative of the Fort Collins, Colorado-based underground/cassette scene. The expression "liquid metal" seems to sound a little bit contradictory, yet, on the other side, his music outpaces all these theoretical and speculative gaps. More profoundly, the first track showcases the ultimate noodling on synths and frantic drumming immediately behind it drawing enthralling parallels upon Lightning Bolt, and CAN`s Tago Mago. In the second track all those labile structures prima facie will be replaced with the layers of thick cosmic electronica. Only good words can I have to hint at that.

Ixtlan - Galaxy Overload In The Circle Of 8 (2007)

23Seconds
Lastfm

8.9

/Experimental rock, Crossover, Ambient, Electronic pop, Kosmische Musik, Indie dance, Krautrock, Experimental electronica, Hip-hop, Dance rock, Psychedelia/

Comment: Bo Green, and Kent Holm do set you free investing in a hypnotic blend of motorik beats, acidic synth flourishes, idiosyncratic visions of dance rock-infiltrated hip-hop crossover examples. Of course, the duo`s music does not pretend to be a kind of usual music enterprise, moreover, it used to incorporate the concrete music frames and get heavily stucked in mumbling, somehow dizzy electronic paths and even funny dadaistic developments (Fool #9). But please do not forget the main topic is related to the Outer Space, though. You can draw parallels upon krautrock artists such as Droids, CAN, Tangerine Dream, The Cosmic Jokers, Neu!, and, of course, their fellow countrymen Joxfield ProjeX. In a nutshell, it is an intricate 9-track issue which needs many listening times to get grasped and adequately understood.

Wolfredt - Await

Frank Molder - Come With Me (2007)

1Bit Wonder
Lastfm

9.2

/Experimental electronica, Kosmische Musik, Psychedelic, Chill out, Breaks, Organic electronica, Downtempo, Mood music, Neokrautrock, Fusion/

Comment: there are up profound 10 tracks allowing you to get relaxed and watch inside yourself. Gleaming, dark blue-tinged electronic sentiments are hybridized with organic undercurrents and lofty kosmische progressions and, though less, with (psy)trance-hued breaks. Molder does chime at times like a decorous torchbearer of the best krautrock/Kosmische Musik and downtempo traditions. Those sonic effects, "whispers" and echoes based on the old school analogue synths are essentially captivating and uplifting. Indeed, we obviously come with You, Frank Molder.

aXid – Rave Addicts (2011)

Ektoplazm
Neurotrance

8.6

/Psytrance, Electro, Rave, Club dance/

Comment: AXid is a producer from Israel providing a handful of piercing, electro-drenched psytrance notches, however, a pair of them are co-operated with XSlash, another producer from the same country. These tracks can be evaluated due to their changeable shapes filled in with lots of minutiae veering out from machine-alike visions to more amusing enterprises.

The Freak Fandango Orchestra - Russian Circus Story

fydhws - Eden i Dva (2010)

Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.4

/Drone, Avant-rock, Experimental rock, Post-rock, Conceptual, Epic, Minimalism, Guitar ambient, Ambient drone, Ambient noise/

Comment: fydhws is the favorite musician of mine from Macedonia (I do not want to exploit the derogatory combination of certain initials and dots to have used generally for hinting at that former Yugoslavian country). I like fydhws`s sound because he used to head up the elements into an idiosyncratic, vanguard-ish rock maelstrom. Furthermore, at times the term "rock" or even "post-rock" can be described in indirect sense only. Here are up 18 minutes spreaded out over 2 tracks, however, both of them are dedication to Glenn Branca, an American guitar hero. Due to Branca, however, the dedication can be reduced to the pioneers of the minimalism, and ultimately to the brothers Russolos. More profoundly, the enterprise is made up on one guitar eddying in a tense, droning whirlpool, however, there can be detected for lofty, ascending high-registered keys and chords ringing subsequently like a new breed of noiseful symphony. The guitar tuning is arranged at E-E-E-B-B-B. Almost destroying!

Golden Cloud & O.S.I.S. - Split (2011)

Sirona
Sirona

9.5

/Avant-rock, Drone doom, Split, Ambient, Space rock, Dark ambient, Post-metal, Minimalism, Avant-metal, Guitar ambient, Post-rock, Experimental rock/

Comment: it comprises two long-running sonic explorations (each notch runs a little bit over 15 minutes) hauling the listener in sublime shifts within the trinity of extensive ambient, undulating space rock, and murky post-rock/post-metal/drone doom (O.S.I.S. does take advantage of the last named tendencies in the first place sounding like another version of the music of Sunn O))); the first part of Golden Cloud`s oeuvre reminds of the early period Slowdive`s contemplations). Of course, behind those highly oscillating but minimal layers you can perceive the traces of the likes of Angus Maclise, and La Monte Young and draw parallels upon such artists as Gamardah Fungus, Taiga, A Beautiful Machine, Glenn Branca, Axxonn, A Foggy Realm, Lengua Mortuoria and obviously many more). More detailly, the album growls and whimpers like a banished juggernaut somewhere in the underworld clambering round to find out the path back to the Earth crust. Epic and majestic.

[Compilation] Gone In 60 Sec - Uncut (2011)

I Heart Noise
Bandcamp

9.2

/Experimental rock, Post-rock, Indie rock, Doom Metal, Alternative rock, Post-metal, Avant-rock, Shoegaze, Blues/

Comment: this is a lush compilation consisting of 8 tracks and artists (Female Demand; Shroud Eater, Drohnwerks; Dave Unger; Dead Leaf Echo; Deadhorse; Trunks; Nikki Louder). All you can take on it are lush perspectives regarding more or less experimental approaches veering from the bristled blues explorations and contained yet light-amplified ambient incantations to massive crust-covered guitar setups and aural post-rock/post-metal numbers. The favorite of mine is Trunks` Kniee which includes a shitloads of intriguing elements (droning, free jazz-induced whiffs) around its indie rock core. Special thanks must be delivered to I Heart Noise, a Boston, Massachussets-based recording, for selecting off and issuing this excellent miscellany.

Botany Bay - Voices

Birch Mouth - High Saturation EP (2010)

CLLCT

8.2

/Art pop, Experimental indie, Primitive pop, Drone pop, Alternative, Lo-fi, DIY/

Comment: at the first sight is seems to be an ambiguous release. Yet, after a couple of listening it either opens up its virtues or you warm up. Sometimes it chimes like a little brother of Beirut, and Bark Cat Bark, at times it used to back away from the approach of the aforementioned juggernauts due to its clumsy, tenuously programmed keyboards and other things. Generally it is a saturated issue, first of all at those places which do showcase more the witty use of lofty harmonies and joyous melodies ( for instance, Carousel; Spooky Clown Lullabye; Gold).

EDASI - Daytime (2011)

EDASI

9.5

/Noise, Black metal, Acousmatics, Dark ambient, Ambient noise, Psycho-acoustic, Psychedelic, DIY, Lo-fi, Experimentalism, Avant-garde, Non music/

Comment: did you know that noise music can be very sensitive in some cases? Especially if it is blended with restraint black metal (at the first sight), solemn psychedelic droning, and off-beat minimalistic yet obsessive incantations. Indeed, such sort of formula can be pulled out from within a 6-track release made by Mihkel Kleis, an Estonian noisenik previously known as the frontman of the retrodelic prog/fusion group Luarvik Luarvik (1998-2010). The outlet is consistent and steady by any means. A superb album which, in the first place, is thought for all of those melomans having been attracted to the ideas of underground black metal, extreme ambient, and lush noise music. (By the way, EDASI has been known due to its frenetic, improvised live shows since the first half of 00s where Kleis used to interplay with an ever-changing cast of musicians).

The Freak Fandango Orchestra - Tales Of A Dead Fish (2011)

Jamendo
The Freak Fandango Orchestra
Lastfm

9.1

/Folk punk, Balkan music, Ethnic punk, Brass pop, Alternative pop, World music/

Comment: TFFO is a 6-piece combo from Barcelona, Spain providing a frenetic, essentially cheerful mix of Balkan, and Gypsy music in the mist of punk-ish attitude being directly influenced by the music of Goran Bregovic, Emil Kusturica And No Smoking Orchestra, and Gogol Bordello. There are represented two versions of a song called Hitman`s Lovesong which is a restless bypass which should be repeated again and again.

Sledding With Tigers - Acoustic Funtime Friendship Show Pt. 2

Brown Recluse - Panoptic Mirror Maze (2011)

Bandcamp

9.4

/Indie pop, Alternative pop, Dream pop, Psychedelia, Brass pop, Experimental indie/

Comment: this is a buoyant and dashing indie pop album embellished with psychedelic keyboards and suggestive brass sections above and around the middle layers consisting of...keyboards and programmed beats. At times it is heavy...heavily easy getting close to cheerful bossa nova and ye-ye developments. On the other side, by its electronic keyboard-laden sound this 9-track issue reminds of White Candles, another combo from Philadelphia, sharing some co-members with each other. Furthermore, there can be drawn parallels upon the likes of Belle & Sebastian, The Concretes, A Sunny Day In Glasgow. In a nutshell, Brown Recluse offers up a pop model, a kind of ideal pop music model. Cheers!

Possimiste - Star Caesar (2011)

Possimiste
Lastfm

9.7

/Avant-pop, Experimental indie, Musique concrète, Electronic pop, Bedroom pop/

Comment: Possimiste is one of the best pop prominencies popped out from the Estonian underground scene in 10s. Star Caesar is a song which is quite different from her other, highly dream-bruished, faery notches. More concretely, however, you can see how Ariel Pink-esque timeless bedroom pop meets the sensuality of Jane Birkin, and actually it involves much more you have no proper words to describe it for. Excellente. That`s all.

The Anarchist Pizza Society - No Gods, No Slices (2011)

Bandcamp
Lastfm

8.6

/Anti-folk, Alternative, Folk punk, Lo-fi, DIY/

Comment: it is pizza anarchy conjured up by Connor Griffin, and Kayla Bastos. Strumming guitars, accidental harmonica-relied forays, some snippets of banjos and tambourines are up there to create a catchy blend of folk-ish punk, anti-folk, and distinctive kind of lo-fi music. Two Ships sounds like a track produced by Radiohead. However, the heart throb of mine is Baby, O Baby (Slice Slice) sung by Bastos involving the best elements of the American roots music. Pizza anarchy?

Weird Ribs - Spacerail

JoieJoieJoie - Les Iguanes (2011)

Bandcamp

9.5

/World music, Covers, Alternative pop, Crossover, Experimental pop, Exotic pop, Psychedelic pop/

Comment: JoieJoieJoie is Clèment Marion, a France-rooted musician residing in Brussels, Belgium who is more known due to his debut issue 2006 (poni republic) 5 years ago since having stayed one of my favorite albums. This time he provides two songs both of them are the covers having hints at the Far East music (all those gong and local flute-induced sounds) spiced up with lofty psychedelic ingredients. Indeed, it is highly exotic and relaxing. By the way, the notch called Les Iguanes reminds of King Crimson`s Lady of the Dancing Water (from Lizard, 1970). Ultimately it is really huge due to its exoticness and picturesque coverprint either.

The Wreck Up - The Wreck Up (2011)

Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.4

/Fusion, Avant-rock, Progressive rock, Experimental rock, Funk, Art rock, RIO/

Comment: I have no hesitation about a fact that an outlet resulted in the collaboration between the Englishman David Preston (also known from a band called Res Band) and the Italian RIO/prog-head Gianluca Missero (Hox Vox; Turbogrind Terrorizers; The Blasted Muffins) is a truly felicitous act indeed. Their 5-track debut shoots cues everywhere taking on psychedelic progressive rock, art rock, catchy dance-appealed funk, haunting neoclassical progressions and shamanic throat singing. Indeed, the issue is to offer up a rainbow-like experience is thought for those who like Prince, CAN, The Pop Group, Jethro Tull, Yat-Kha, Yes (and Hox Vox either).

Trance And The Arcade - troubleman 7 (2001/2011)

Free Music Archive
Troubleman Unlimited

8.4

/Harsh noise, Psycho-acoustic, Experimentalism, Techno/

Comment: this 3-track issue was firstly released under the legendary/cult label Troubleman Unlimited almost 11 years ago. As a female voice says here in the opening track Drippp "noise is everywhere", indeed, the release does reflect upon the sharp elements of digitalized noise which used to be truly rough and bleak or on the other side just referring to the condition of elemental chaos. At times (the last track) it is blended with raw techno beats and weird squeaks and fringed with bulimic guggle.

Bryyn - Giraffe

Barthol Lo Mejor - For play Ep (2011)

Barthol Lo Mejor
Lastfm

8.8

/Electro pop, Alternative, Breakcore, Club dance, Robo pop/

Comment: this is a powerfully bouncing and drilling, totally fuel-filled 4-track EP by an Estonian electro musician (he is educated as the semiotician) who has been active since 2005. While the EP is highly flame spitting prima facie it seems to be austere due to its methodology (because of being subjected to the control of artificial intelligence). Eleganz und dekadenz.

Weird Ribs - 803 Days (2011)

CLLCT
Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.2

/Ambient, Kosmische Musik, Space pop, Psychedelic, Synthwave, Electronic pop, Krautrock/

Comment: if to describe such kind of music you don`t need many words at all. Highly oscillating synths used to push forward into the format of Kosmische Musik as if setting out its own narrative about the creation of the Outer Space. On the other way, just listening to it seems to be a much more democratic activity because of getting a chance to perceive more colours, accents, modalities, and variegated tones below, above and around it. In a nutshell, a handful of notches represented here do provide a savory listening. Indeed, Joseph Cox made it out again.

Dolores - To Die No More (2011)

Bandcamp

9.3

/Guitar ambient, Drone, Ambient drone, Ambient, Ambient noise, Soundscapes, Witch house/

Comment: you can be sure Boise (the Idaho State) is not the most known city/town in the USA but at least 2 excellent groups do originate from there. More concretely, those combos are The Very Most (twee/indie pop), and Eluder (ambient/drone). However, Ryan de la Rosa`s Dolores is a stunning collective as well because of providing a tight soundscape comprising the elements of massive guitar-based ambient and relentlessly buzzing drone which are variegated with the minutiae consisting of the details of musique concrète, muffled vociferation, and spoken word. On the other side, if to consider the coverprint and the reversed cross on it, however, this may be a release which puts the finger on the new directions within the black metal or witch house scenes. Indeed, it is rather a hypothetical point of view but such kind of possibility should not be excluded. All in all, it is a mesmerizing effort for sure.

Shirubi Ikazuchi - Seizure

SoftClip – Between the Land And The Sky (2011)

trescatorce

9.2

/Trip-hop, Downtempo, Experimental electronica, Dubtronica, Electronic pop, Chill out, Cinematic/

Comment: I can remember for that Good Natured Threat`s Short Stories EP (2011, Melodica) was reviewed at RMH in March which provides an organic shift between club dance-esque cadences and more pop-oriented visions. GNT used to exist as the cooperative project of Mark and Lara Hjorthoy, a pair from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (you know the home city for the Canucks, a hockey team). Anyway, Mark is this time alone, yet, continuing to run on the similar way, more concretely, by amalgamating suggestive trip-hop/downtempo/dub-oscillating beats into the set of gleaming upper layers of sounds. There is even hinted at the resemblance with Durutti Column, a British art-rock/post-punk legend (I can only agree with it). The 4-track publication seems to be more bigger than the mere sum of its particles. Indeed, it is seamless, organic, it can even be considered as a holistic masterpiece. Listen to it!

Botany Bay - Grounded (2007)

Ubisonic
Jamendo
Lastfm

8.4

/Alternative pop, Dark pop, Pomp pop, Electronic pop, Art pop/

Comment: this 19-track album showcases its mainstream-appealed tendencies mixed up with some more experimental developments. However, Botany Bay was formed in 1996 by Stephan Kleinert (programming, things), a German musician who was often aided by a ever-changing cast of musicians. When this release was recorded and publicated in 2007 Laura Dietrich (singing, synths) was a member of the band as well. The sound of the issue is mostly melancholic, made up of dark pop-tinged progressions and classical approach. At times it have managed to got more into a introspective appearance using microscopic chaotic disturbances and mildly droning keyboards. The outstanding track for me is The Crow Song wherein you can perceive the influences of Einstuerzende Neubauten and Lambchop due to the special vocal manner by Kleinert reminiscent of Blixa Bargeld, and Kurt Wagner, respectively (the most of the songs are vocally performed by Dietrich, though). A nice listening indeed.

Band That Never Was - Band That Never Was (2011)

Birdsong
Lastfm

8.9

/Improvised music, Post-rock, Chamber music, Instrumental rock/

Comment: BTNW is a trio from Israel offering up a sort of improvised rock music in full sway. There are represented 7 more or less hijinks turning off at the length of 36 minutes. Back and forth fluttering guitars are backed up by heavily pummeling drums or on the other side used to display the ones inclined to progress more into a sort of still life art in its very marrow. It is even not surprising if you can find out hints at the glimpses of world music throughout the progression of the notches.

Bing Satellites - You Were In A Dream

Enko - Vshiva (2009)

Qulture Production
Lastfm

9.3

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

Comment: Enko (also known as Enkolf Kitler, and Artem) is a producer from Sumy, Ukraine who used to have been involved in the production of innovative techno music for many years. He has recorded for the likes of Qulture Production, and Bypass. Here are represented 3 tracks which might pay tribute to machines/or machine-like creatures and artificial intelligence who at times used to function as if were stayed too long on psychedelic drugs and magical mushrooms (especially if to consider those highly acidic breakbeats at Minimalist). On the other side, yet, you can be quite sure the issue is not a dance floor case. At least in the first place. As a producer, he can be compared with such artists like (surprise, surpise!) Autechre, Shtift, Xenoglosia, Nth Synthesis, HermeneutecH, Proswell. In a nutshell, this is a stunning break-laid outlet.

Wild Honey - My Girlfriend Ronnie (2011)

Bandcamp

9.4

/Twee pop, Singer-songwriter, Experimental indie, Sunshine pop, Baroque pop, Chamber pop, Indie pop/

Comment: Guillermo Farrè is a Madrid, Spanish-based musician/singer-songwriter who surprised with an enthralling issue, called Epic Handshakes and a Bear Hug, issued in 2009. It comprises blissful, even epic (twee) indie tunes incorporating the best traditions of the Sarah Records and mixing it up with the Latin romantism and elusive contemplation (containing the historical dimension within it). More concretely, you could get involved in majestic harmonies and clever lyrics. All those words can be said about his brand new single either. Enjoy it and listen to his previous masterpieces in addition to it.

Bryyn - Crossing State Lines (2011)

Jamendo
Lastfm
Wikipedia

9.3

/Singer-songwriter, Indie folk, Alt-folk, Folktronica, Folk indie, Experimental folk, Art-pop, Experimental indie/

Comment: Bryn Martin who was previously known as Pinkle is a prolific American vagabond who relocated over to Lausanne, Switzerland some years ago. He grew up being influenced by some conceptual rock bands like Trans Am, and Tortoise, and by more pop-inclined artists like Wes Montgomery, Beck, and Nirvana. If to describe this 11-track issue, however, first of all, it is a pop album deserving to be written with the initials. The release is filled in with impressive turns and sublime free falls extending from cagey folk-based approach to electronic effect-laden singer-songwriter-ism to the half-orchestrated splendour. Anyway, you can perceive the similar characteristics with Sufjan Stevens, Dan Masquelier, Sondre Lerche, Bon Iver, Stereolab, The Smiths, and even Blur. Finally, I am very convinced that Coffee in Tokyo is one of the best songs in 2011.

Yachar - Caleuche (2011)

Jamendo

9.1

/Classical, Neoclassical, Epic, Musique concrète, Martial, Avant-garde/

Comment: Yachar, a producer from Valencia, Catalonia, Spain is back with his brand new one. 17-minute composition comprises different elements veering out from sunshiny orchestrations, light-hearted vowel layers, and more and less murky concrete-based undercurrents (it embarks on with the sublime hooter sounds of a barge and will end up with the hollering of seagulls) and martial drumming to electronic explosions and chamber pop undulation. Once more, this sonic odyssey is really worth to be reprised for many times again and again.

Possimiste - Filably

Flamingo - Superpalm (2011)

Bad Panda
Lastfm

9.1

/Electronic pop, Glo-fi, Chillwave, Lo-fi, Ambient techno, Hypnagogic pop, Avant-pop/

Comment: Flamingo is a producer from Rome, Italy offering up an uplifting mix of ambient techno/kosmische chill-out electronica and chillwave-ish indie pop. The 5-track EP starts out with the self-titled track which gets very near to the Orb-esque beatific ambient techno contemplation a la Toxygene (from within the album Orblivion, 1997, Island Records) and the last track Bat Country will do it in the similar manner either. The other tracks in-between are more contemplative in their blissed-out frames and retrodelic hypnagogic gyration (reminding of the 80`s fusion-loaded synth/electro rock bands, and contemporary acts like Ariel Pink, and Eureka Brown), and primitive lo-fi sequences. Ultimately, it is a pleasant listening.

NOW - Sudden Bursts/Normal Breaths (2011)

Clinical Archives

9.0

/No Wave, Avant-pop, Noise rock, Dance rock, Drone pop, Electronic pop, Avant-garde, Krautrock, Experimental, Improvised music, Experimental indie, Art pop, Electro pop/

Comment: here are represented 24 tracks together, which in turn are divided into 2 parts. However, the common picture of the album is convincing thanks to the trio`s innovative but consistent approach by mixing up restraint drone pop montages, guggling electronica and static electro, lofty kraut dynamics, obscure British post-punk tradition, noiseful rock, and whimsical No Wave progressions with some hints at dadaistic tones and hooks. Indeed, the group does have its own idiosyncratic formula, which seems to be coming out into an incessant yet seamless fight between the improvised vapour and determined structures. As it is said at Clinical Archives, it is nowadays experimental pop (which can borrow capably from the past, analyze it and add its own thread to it).

Blossom - Blue Balloons

B.R.O. - Proxima Centauri Remixed EP (2011)

so far unknown records
B.R.O.

9.4

/Remixes, Cinematic, Trip-hop, Nu jazz, Fusion/

Comment: here are 6 tracks, two of them are original ones created by the Polish duo B.R.O. (Konrad & Jakub Zamojski) and the rest of them are remixed by Remy LBO, Graham O`Brien, Graf Cratedigger, and Wladyslaw Komendarek. However, all those notches are made up without sparing time and resources in production. Mostly lush, dark blue-infiltrated rhythms are seamlessly interwoven with the epic touch of topmost cosmic layers to offer for the listener the sort of transcendent experience.

Opusvertigo - Tales of the wood - part II - Revenge (2011)

Jamendo

8.6

/Film noir, Electronic pop, Neoclassical, Classical, Conceptual/

Comment: this 6-minute single is the second part of Tales of the wood. However, it does embark on with a layer of droning, slightly wavy orchestration-laden sound which gets developed into a more synthetic and dashing approach with the demonstration of a sharp contrast between thudding synth sequences and acute forays of orchestrated samples.

The Hatsune Mikus - Go Manchester!!! (2011)

Canata
Lastfm

9.5

/Dream pop, Baggy, Shoegaze, Madchester, Dance rock, Alternative pop/rock, J-pop, Indie pop/

Comment: I have always been into such groups as Happy Mondays, The Soup Dragons, Darkside, Flowered Up, Northside, The Mock Turtles, The Wordsmiths and other such kind of groups who used to fuse indie guitars with dance-appealed beats. By listening to this 5-track issue I can only perceive very strong bittersweet feeling because of including elements which do build up an enthralling whole. Japanese female vocal driven songs are backed up by suggestive wah guitars, beatific mandolin chords and amusing orchestrations, and loose drum pads. Onwards, the result can be measured in astonishing harmonies and melodies either. In fact, the album`s title should have named as Go Madchester!!! (just a little joke!). However, imagine as if Happy Mondays were met with Richard Hawley, and Asobi Seksu, and Flipper`s Guitar, and Ride. One of the pop albums in 2011.

goto80 - Ter4

Hox Vox - Undead (2011)

Bandcamp

9.3

/Electronic pop, Progressive rock, RIO, Avant-prog, Weird pop, Experimental/

Comment: Hox Vox is Gianluca Missero, a native from Venice (or Venezia as you wish) who has covered lots of stylistic curiosities and thus has been a steadfast torchbearer for nowadays RIO (rock in opposition) movement or at least its uncompromising traditions. Matter of fact is that he is now more involved in the doings of such groups as Turbogrind Terrorizers, The Blasted Muffins, and The Wreck Up, yet, here is the awesome single Undead which, however, demonstrates Missero`s idiosyncratic sonic calligraphy and ability for dramatic explorations. More concretely, it includes the elements of different kind of breaks, the growling of werewolves, ethereal vowel layers. The most appealing fact is that the moods around it are peculiarly shifting and changeable. I would delineate it for myself as a psychedelic experience at least.

Betamaxx - Wild Foxes (2011)

Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.3

/Chillwave, Glo-fi, Synth pop, Electronic pop, Lo-fi, DIY/

Comment: a heavy blend of nowadays and past tendencies mixed into a stunning whole by any means. The 70`s disco oscillations and lush synth pop glimpses are interlaced with nowadays bedroom production a la early Ariel Pink. Truly retrodelic. Tom Reah and Euan Lynn are a Newcastle, UK-based duo whom should be checked out in the future as well. Most of us are not so talented just to take on such superb sound and intentions.

Enki Enlil - Acid Monkey Strikes Again (2010)

Archive.org

9.5

/Hauntology, Synth noir, Psyambient, Electronic pop, Avant-electronica, Experimentalism, Drone pop, DIY/

Comment: actually it involves much more elements than just by the sentence that hip-hop beats meet acid ambience. Furthermore, those aforementioned stylistic elements are quite vague on it. It is deeply haunting sounding like a track from within a compilation of halloween being deliberately mixed up with nowadays DIY/lo-fi aesthetics. All those dusty, droning analogue keyboards are set up to provide lush vibrations and suggestive rhythms or at times being replaced with more introverted electronic explorations. Even psychedelic chill out/psyambient-esque patterns and shamanic incantations are represented here. And all of that sounds truly great. In a nutshell, a gem indeed.

2muchachos - Long Time Ago