Dale Cooper Quartet & The Dictaphones - Beko_97 (2011)

Beko DSL
Lastfm

9.2

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

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

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

Arts & Crafts
Soundcloud

8.8

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

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

[Teaser of the day] Maria Minerva - Pirate`s Tale

Spies On Bites - Watch Your Step (2011)

Bandcamp
Soundcloud

8.7

/Hip-hop, Urban music, Electro-hop/

Comment: just a pair of tracks by Nathan Cochran, a producer from Tampa, Florida. These pieces are about gritty hip-hop based on thudding bass lines and intriguing synth sways and poignant electro-tinged rhythms.

Dubsalon - Durban Chamber LP (2011)

Id.eology

9.1

/Dub, Psychedelic/

Comment: this album contains 8 tracks and one huge, 30-minute remix/mixtape by DJ Saetchmo, of course, made up of the notches of Dubsalon. The concept and obsession of the album rotates around dub, dub, and dub. Sometimes it is more traditional, sometimes more psychedelic or electronically hemmed or intensely mixed with each other. However, all of that might not make difference if all this synergy coming forth from the slots and terrains of it wasn`t so mesmerizing and formidable.

P.Laoss - Triplandenia EP (2009)

Load And Clear

9.3

/Dub-tech, Tech-dub, Deep dub, Club dance, Deep techno, Minimal techno/

Comment:Andrè Müller aka P.Laoss aka Vakuum Sounds is a producer from Schwerin, Germany who is inclined to create deep, hypnotic dub and techno-centered compositions which in turn constitute both a cozy private room for the listener and providing catchy dance-appealed sequences for fine club visitors. Sometimes it is more flourishing, at times more restraint and minimal, though. However, to listen to it in late hours it would be acting as the same way as being alone accompanied by the lullabies. Otherwise, excluding the abovementioned situation, it pumps you up. In a word, it is refined and even someway optimal deserving to be a classic.

[Teaser of the day] The Womb - I Disown My Country

Sea Things - Ferns

Sea Things - Ferns from Steph D on Vimeo.

Spuntic - Out Of Step (2011)

Enough
Bandcamp
Lastfm

8.9

/Dubstep, Ambient dub, Experimental electronica, Glitchtronica, Dark ambient, Dystopbient, Illbient, Crossover/

Comment: this project originates from Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran providing a 6-piece issue which will be finished off at the length of almost 23 minutes. However, it is a remarkable effort taking on dystopic, formidable compositions which used to appear like the margins of a black hole only infrequently emitting the rays of light and more lighter tonalities bailing out from within the centre of the abyss. In conclusion, there can be said that the ideological point of the release is determined at the crossroads of ominous dubstep sequences, threatening ambient/illbient panoramas, and ghastly silence-near appearences, and glitch-fringed shimmer passim. Yet, a track called Emerging Space seems to have been managed in a way to get into a more spacey, kosmische inquiry as if it were the sonic description of a trajectory of a space shuttle.

Istari Lasterfahrer - That's the Story (2001)

Commie

9.0

/Industrial techno, Avant-techno, Experimental techno, Robot pop, Avant-industrial/

Comment: just one track spreaded out over 5 and a half minutes. It takes on brooding techno progressions being embellished with spoken word snippets (obviously snatched from an old movie), burning out possible air inbetween the layers within it. Indeed, it is essentially artificial and synthetic, more profoundly, it may be deemed a bow toward machine/robot-deflected, Kraftwerk-esque emotionless aesthetics, and on the other side, it celebrates the tradition of nihilistic old school industrial music particularly running in the vein of Cabaret Voltaire, and Throbbing Gristle. Istari Lasterfahrer is an artist from Hamburg, Germany and the single was released on Commie, a Finland-based blueprint.

Abc100 - Exit Site (2012)

Headphonica
Lastfm

8.8

/Electronic pop, Noise, Experimentalism, Avant-electronica, Experimental electronica/

Comment: there are up 13 notches recorded by Alexandr Sinyagin, a literature student from Moscow, Russia. It is assumed his music used to be directly influenced by literature. His sound used to extend from the structures of quelled but chopped electronica to more bubblegum bouncing ones which sometimes run along more poppier pathways. For instance, Sous Cari does have such marks being highly suggestive through its exulting hooks and sequences. Or on the other side, it exploits the templates of more experimental and even pranky details (different kind of noises, pitchbent effects, somehow weird sounds and disrupted developments, radiophonic samples etc). Thus the spirituality of the album used to superimpose with the main slogan of the Headphonica Records. In a nutshell, the whole is brisk, disquieted and lively.

[Teaser of the day] Re-Lab - Nereidas

Binärpilot - Bend

Various Artists - Äriasjad EP & PDF (2012)

Bandcamp

9.1

/Alternative, Lo-fi, Garage pop, DIY, Blues rock, Bedroom music, Post-psychedelic electronica, Electronic pop, Experimental indie/

Comment: this is the first compilation issue by an Estonian virtual label, called Lita. It contains 4 tracks, 2 of them are recorded by more well-known artists (Zahir - an Estonian noise and blues-rooted underground legend who has been active since the first half of 90`s, and today`s Estonian golden pop girl Maria Minerva who has issued her releases on the Not Not Fun, a Californian-relied panacea for DIY/lo-fi/experimental artists all around the world. In any cases, both of them demonstrate their power at the highest level). However, the hysterical garage propulsion Ma Pesen Oma Hambaid Verega (I wash my teeths with blood) by Kooma, and bouncing rhythm sequences and catchy pop-laden hooks by Endel are suggestive in their somewhat sneering attitude either. In addition to the music the publication involves a PDF-based document of how promote your music (though it is written in Estonian it includes a shitloads of links for important places and domains). In a nuthsell, it is a great miscellany which proves that the things are getting improved with every next issue within the Estonian alternative scene.

Makunouchi Bento - Rinbu Remixed (2012)

Bandcamp

8.9

/Experimental electronica, World music, Avant-electronica, Chamber music, Dark ambient, Crossover, Glitchtronica, Remixes/

Comment: Felix Petrescu, and Valentin Toma comprise a Romanian duo, called Makunouchi Bento having already been active since 2001. There are represented 3 remixes, and one mix by their friends which used to span a variety of electronic visions extending from disquieted electronic drifts (mixed up with chamber music whiffs at times) and more haunting/dark ambient progressions and glitch-filled pieces to more ethnic/World Music-concentrated sonic seeds and Balkan-infected film soundtracks (indeed, the closing track Jubokko is a fabulous one in its otherworldly blinking and glimmering hooks and developments). All of these elements are a little pitchbent and deformed. In a nutshell, the result is essentially offbeat and unexpected which does not uncover its nature at once at all. And of course, in addition to it you should listen to their original tracks at Camomille either.

Coma Cinema - Baby Prayers (2009)

Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.0

/DIY, Chamber pop, Alternative pop, Singer-songwriter, Experimental indie, Lo-fi/

Comment: this is the debut album by Mat Cothran aka Coma Cinema involving 14 tracks just spreaded out over 27 minutes. It contains exclusively demo staples recorded between 2005 and 2009. Indeed, the album provides lots of hints at Cothran`s further DIY aesthetics tightly dabbled with electronic undercurrents and curious elements of singer-songwriter-ism and baroque pop-esque sweeps. More profoundly, it is elegantly rough due to its lo-fi guitar fingerpicking which is interlaced with compelling orchestrations, droning synths and dreamy vocal lines. In the first place his aesthetics reminds of Mark Linkous aka Sparklehorse.

Max Cavalerra - Der Mensch und seine Gänsehaut

[Teaser of the day] The Juliets - Sweetheart

dreKu - In Homine Natura (2003)

Oftanova

9.2

/Cybergrind, Cut and paste, Grindcore, Brutal metal, Cybermetal, Sound collage, Hardcore electronica, Experimental metal, Hardcore, Crossover/

Comment: this project obviously comes out from Chile, South America having been active since the end of 90`s. By analysing the titles of notches and the coverprint of the particular album there can almost be sure about a fact the release is militantly arranged and channelized for. More profoundly, there are up 8 short-running tracks which are designed for to be certain battlefields for elliptical guitar noodling, punching a little brassy/corroded programmed blasts/machine gun-alike shooting and threatening bass lines. Furthermore, it exploits a huge array of samples (spoken word snippets, electronic bits, brass forays) to variegate and provoke the soundscape. On the other side, it pretends to be a bridge between metal/grind and hardcore (and) electronica/cybercore and, if you wish, sound collage/cut and paste. Ultimately, the result is a mesmerizing one. Let`s call it guerilla metal.

Pavol Ambiont - Irrhythmia (2012)

Foundamental Network

9.3

/Ambient dub, Robo pop, Dubstep, Spoken word, Tech-dub, Avant-garde, Club dance, Crossover, Dub-tech, Experimental electronica/

Comment: this album involves a shitloads of tracks/snippets spreaded out over 45 minutes, however, recorded in a timespan of 4 years, more particularly, from 2007-2011 by Pavel Niakhayev who is known as being a member of many other musical collectives either. Stylistically it veers away from cosmic ambient dub vibrations and lush dubstep progressions to more exact, club-centered endeavours and even bubblegum-esque techno/robo pop glimpses and concrete sound and spoken word-fringed mystical rays. There can be drawn parallels upon the likes of Randomajestiq (his compatriot - from Belarus), Kraftwerk, The Orb (of course!), Sidharta (Andrey Kiritchenko), Alio Die, Gennaro Molino, Koalips etc. In a word, the issue is truly profound, subtly variegating and suggestively contemplative.

Radere - The Earth, Laid Bare (2012)

Basic_sounds
Bandcamp

9.7

/Organic electronica, Epic, Ambient, Ambient noise, Post-rock, Crossover, Experimental electronica, Musique concrète/

Comment: similarly to other releases on basic_sounds this issue by Carl Ritger contains just one track/composition, though, spreaded out over 35 minutes. It is highly organic involving the elements of electronica, ambient, microscopic noise, and experimental/post-rock, however, all of these stylistic elements are seamlessly interlaced with each other. Furthermore, all these aspects in turn are infiltrated with the seeds of found sounds/field recording. It brings forth a bunch of pleasant consequences - it is soothing, it is epic and thus even exulting. At times it seems to be more the burning of a campfire than the sequences of deliberately treated chords. By kindred souls, however, it can be compared to the likes of slept., Labradford, Tudo de Volta, Tim Hecker, Ecovillage, Clark Nova Portable, Beth Kleist, Machinefabriek, Loscil, Pan American and many other ones. What a stupendous flow! In a word, it is an instance of a God`s trace.

Barbagallo + Snakes Ambassadors - Great Sun

[Teaser of the day] Duncan Malashock - Lookin' Around (Positivity Mojo)

Ryonkt - The World That Was Surrounded By A Deep Forest And Warm Light (2008)

Resting Bell
Lastfm

9.1

/Space rock, Dream pop, Ambient, Crossover, Minimalism, Space folk/

Comment: Ryo Nakata aka Ryonkt is a Japanese musician who provides a 4-track issue. It involves the aspects of minimal ambient, spacious rock/folk, and bottomless dream pop (at least the lonesome chords or doleful, lingering riffs played on a guitar and amplified with the applications of digital sound processing). And of course, it is minimally structured and played on repetitive elements which in turn will be complemented with new yet almost invisible bits - less is more. In any cases, there is enough room between the margins of chords to unleash your dreams and positive feelings.

Stark Effect - Mic In Track (2003)

Comfort Stand
Lastfm

8.8

/Experimental electronica, Breakbeat, Indietronica, Hip-hop, Conceptual, Weird pop, Cut and paste, Crossover, Breaks, Sampledelic, Experimentalism, Avant-garde/

Comment: Stark Effect`s music ranges across a multitude of aspects of electronic music - from lush and relaxing electronica to more brooding and whimsical endeavours regarding the rhythms and upper layers which are infiltrated with spoken word snippets and humour (for instance, Bunnyrabbits, Satan, Cheese And Milk). Or Stop! I`m Watching TV which crosses the loops of guitar twangs with chopped paces and the entitled assertion thus blending indie, hip-hop, and funny glimpses with each other. There are up 5 notches wrapped up in 18 minutes. In a word, it is a quite weird, unconventional shit. It is not surprising at all because it is allowed to be issued on the legendary Comfort Stand.

I6NOIR - Death Wears Stripes (2011)

Mediafire

9.0

/Shoegaze, Dark wave, Neoclassical, Neofolk, EBM, Noir folk, Crossover, Experimental rock/

Comment: the debut album of Remo Randver`s project involves 14 tracks which take on murky themes built predominantly on the scope of hirsute guitars lines or lush string-relied strumming and gloomy synth sequences mixing up lofty dark wave-ish vistas with ethereal shoegaze-ish panoramas and neofolk/apocalyptic folk/noir folk-ish restart points and EBM-alike brooding. At times there is represented somehow calculated and feigned angriness or anxiousness, though mostly it is dominated by organic full of feeling streaming. The Estonian musician`s oeuvre reminds mainly of the doings by Lycia, Trance to the Sun, Wings of an Angel, Art Abscons, Scarlet Leaves. In a word, its is qualitative on its core and its peripheral creases.

[Teaser of the day] Tinyfolk – There's Always Something There to Remind Me

Wings of an Angel - a Solitary Night Walk In toThe Unknown

Comptroller - Comptroller (2010)

Bandcamp

9.3

/8-bit, Breakcore, Noise, Chiptune, Electro pop, Experimental electronica, Avant-electronica, Tracker music, Nintendocore, Chipbreak/

Comment: it is hinted at that Comptroller lives in Edinburgh, Scotland and makes music exploiting old machines (Nintendo Game Boy, Commodore 64). His 10-track, self-titled album is fabulous thanks to permanently variegating rhythmic patterns, intriguing dodges and forays, and glowering, a little dark-sided propulsions. Sometimes it sounds rather like an electro-drenched indie/experimental pop group, however, having similarities with the likes of Suicide, The Silver Apples, or Clinic (for instance, Low Point). On the other side, Red Room is a chiptune-soaked counterpoint to drum and bass artists like Dillinja, and Panacea. Indeed, the progression schemes running on it into an exulting noise cave are highly up to level. Thirdly (or is it already fourthly?) it involves the bows of intense yet elegant gliding electro music. In a word, this is a bully publication by any means.

Emme - Eravamo Come Non Saremo Piu' (2012)

ViVeriVive

8.8

/Alt-folk, Dream folk, Organic electronica, Singer-songwriter, Experimental folk, Indie folk, Art folk/

Comment: there are up a bunch of sophisticated folk songs by Matteo Micheletti from Italy who offers up acoustic, string-based layers which are densely spiced up with the undercurrents of sonic effects (predominantly reverse effects) and the splinters of organic electronics. All the ditties are sung in Italian being produced and accomplished as dreamy and longing and bucolic ones. Micheletti as an artist and singer-songwriter can be compared with the likes of Artwood, Barbagallo, Nick Rivera, Winstonmcnamara, and Menion all the artists originating from the Apennine peninsula.

Dancefloor Outlaws - Ghetto Funk EP (2012)

Ghetto Funk

9.2

/R`n`b, Bhangra, Plunderphonics, Hiptronica, Soul, Sound collage, Hip-hop, Urban music, Rap, Breaks, Club dance, Crossover/

Comment: the sonic pranksters Will Streetwise and Robin Parris aka Dancefloor Outlaws from UK provide a set of 4 tracks which used to bounce and shoot, mixing tightly up club vibes with the templates of black urban music (r`n`b, soul, hiptronica).In a word, everyone who is listening to it is inclined to dance and groove. Moreover, the listener can detect lots of familiar moments/artists from within the whole because it chirps like a sort of mixtape.

[Teaser of the day] Good Times Dad Island - This Charming Man (8-bit) (The Smiths)

Clutter - Slow Blizzard

Balam Acab - Downloads (2010)

Lastfm

9.5

/Post-dubstep, Witch house, Dreamwave, Drag house, Trianglecore, Avant-electronica, Experimental electronica/

Comment: Alec Koone aka Balam Acab is a musician who does not to be closely introduced, though. During the last years he has meritedly gained huge popularity due to his issues such as See Birds, and Wander/Wonder through the blogosphere and the year`s top rankings. There are up two ditties (See Birds, Heavy Living Things) which are ethereal and dreamy yet somehow malignant and ghastly on their own. The listener can detect irresistible glacial glow-alike glimpses coming forth from within the thick wall of bewitching smog. Indeed, Alec Koone is a glimmering part of the (post-) dubstep and witch house/drag house movement.

àrbore & apenino - Animals Are Not Things! (2012)

Microphones In The Trees
Bandcamp

8.9

/Free folk, Dream folk, Musique concrète, New Weird Europe, Psych-folk, New Weird Spain, Freak folk/

Comment: Rafael Romero aka àrbore (guitars), and apenino (ukeleles) are the troubadours from Spain who have dedicated this 14-album to animals who are killed, vivisected, served as clothing, trained/tortured for entertainment and so on for every day. The purpose of the artists is to convince us, the listeners become vegan. Sonically it is a quite austere pursuit chiming organically and seamlessly. More profoundly, thoughtful acoustic guitar chord sequences are mixed up with concrete sounds including the voices of domestic animals. Sometimes àrbore whistles in the middle of dominantly instrumental compositions, changing chords and tonalities or playing on minimally shaped patterns and repetitive explorations. Furthermore, at Ngetal, and Tini Mandarini the duo is inclined to enter into a more obscure psych-folk plot. The general result is bucolic and innocent. In a word, an enjoyable one by any means. By the way, there are up a pair of covers originally created by Bill Callahan, and The Silver Jews.

Flying Monkeys - Random Songs From 2005 (2005)

Lastfm

9.0

/Punk rock, Alternative, DIY, Lo-fi, Hardcore punk, Oi! punk/

Comment: Flying Monkeys was a Chicago-based punk group consisting of Riot Cross, and Calvin Chaos aka Xombie Panic. Their sound is truly lo-fi, rough, and dirty, more concretely, all of that is recorded on a 4-track recorder and sounding like having it done without exploiting any plugs and other "normal" devices. Yet, their DIY-aesthetics is highly charming, suggestive, and even exulting now and then involving the elements of oi!, and hardcore-esque noodling at a high frequency. In a word, these 10 short-running blasts (spreaded out over 13 minutes) are worth to be checked out for.

[Teaser of the day] Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Che Belew

Brad Sucks - Overreacting (Deep Immunosupression Mix)

Bob Ostertag - Say No More (2011)

Classwar Karaoke
Free Music Archive

9.4

/Improvised music, Avant-garde, Noise, Experimentalism, Free jazz, Chamber music/

Comment: originally these two long-running compositions were created approximately 20 years ago with the help of such legends as Joey Baron (percussion), Mark Dresser (bass), Phil Minton (vocal), and Gerry Hemingway (percussion). Initially the layers of the compositions were played in and recorded apart from each other and later elaborated and brushed up by Bob Ostertag and thereafter sent back to the musicians to learn their parts. The collective was born in this way. However, the outlet is very intense, noisy, and abrasive being immersed in various stylistic elements - extending from dizzy drumming snippets and Minton`s mad vowel/lycanthropic improvisations to few more subdued incantations embellished with the elements of chamber music all of that is wrapped up with the electro-acoustic ambiance. In a word, it sounds like a punk record within the plot of jazz world. In fact, it is much worth if to juxtapose it to a point on the average punk record scale.

Huixtralizer - Rasguño EP (2012)

A.M.P-RECS

9.1

/Dark ambient, Ambient noise, Avant-garde, Illbient, Experimental electronica, Noise/

Comment: Josè Soberanes aka Huixtralizer, an experimental music producer from Tula, Mexico provides 3 tracks which used to run on dirty, unpolished pathways made up of subdued (though, it is maliciously harsh now and then) noise and ambient, or even veering away the tendencies of subtle borealic vibes and scintillations (like Tim Hecker`s albums in the beginning of 00s). It can be assured the whole can be perceived lush and noiseful simultaneously. The issue is released on the legendary A.M.P-RECS.

Power Animal - Exorcism (2012)

Human Kindness Overflowing
Crash Symbols

9.4

/Experimental indie, Post-psychedelic electronica, Leftfield, Glo-fi, Alternative, Electronic pop, Poptronica, Sampledelic/

Comment: there are up 11 tracks which used to occasion lots of damnable vivid moments and miraculous feelings coming out from within me. It is neither pure electronic pop nor clear-cut indie pop - it is laid down somewhere in between. It is not even a chillwave/glo-fi act, it rather resembles of the sample-based/sampledelic works by The Avalanches or something like that which used to build on conspicuous warped pop visions. The project comes out from Philadelphia, USA. It is truly suggestive and enthralling now and then.

[Teaser of the day] Jonny Vaughan - Get My Girl To Glastonbury

The Men From...BEYOND!! - surfing the solar winds at the lunar beach party

Nick R 61 - X (2009)

Bypass
Lastfm

9.2

/Broken beats, Breakcore, Tracker music, Experimental electronica, Noise, Spoken word, Chiptune, 8-bit, Avant-electronica/

Comment: Nick R 61 is a producer from Shakhty, Russia, who used to explore electronic music from different point of views. More concretely, he explores glitch-filled electronica, tumultuous noise, high frequency broken beats, and even frantic 8-bit pathways. X is a patchwork involving all the aforementioned elements, yet, there is one farcelike development based on a phone call with bad language in Russian, and playing on abrasive, off-beat frequencies, and noise-doused chopped electronica (108). Furthermore, even the string-induced textures getting developed into a border area of folktronica are to appear over there (IP I2-IV-I96I).

Voyageurs - WHITE MOON RECORDINGS SINGLES CLUB (2011)

White Moon
Bandcamp

9.2

/Psych-rock, Experimental rock, Trance rock, Krautrock, Psychedelia, Shoegaze/

Comment: every following step by Voyageurs, a Fayetteville, Arkansas-based combo is worth to be listened to. Their psych-fused, repetition-heavy patterns and shapes used to create lots of moods and dilate the space around the listener. This time the abovementioned styles are interspersed with the elements of shoegaze and krautrock, especially at those spots regarding ethereal vocal lines and lopsided, elliptical yet repetitive trajectores, respectively. These two pieces (Big Ritual, The Distance) are thought for those melomans who are got involved in listening to Spacemen 3, Serena Maneesh, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and other such kind of musical groups.

Tembryo - Tremblaya (2012)

Clinical Archives

9.3

/Free jazz, Avant-garde, Noise, Improvised music, Experimentalism, Crossover/

Comment: there are up three parts, however, all of them are tightly subjected to the algorithms of improvisational music. The case is not only about free jazz but also about progressions and appearances taking on gritty noiseful bits and chords and obscure yet freeing electronic explorations. In a word, the intention of the release can be delineated as a pigeonhole due to cross lush noise and optimally dispensed experimentation with each other. Tembryo is a trio from Prague, Czech Republic experimenting with the assistance of tenor saxophone, electric guitar, and cassette player/previously recorded sounds. All of that is performed as a live session. Truly plausible and satisfying. The project`s music can be compared to the likes of Borbetomagus, and some works by Bob Ostertag, Zloty Dawai, Vulcan Sessions.

Oxaici - Legionaris

[Teaser of the day] Gillicuddy - de mannetjesolifant gaat op reis naar de oostzee

Archive.org

Myles Coyne - I Love You Mom (2012)

Mine All Mine
Mine All Mine

8.7

/Anti-folk, Lo-fi, DIY, Singer-songwriter, Alt-folk/

Comment: "homesick blues", singer-songwriter/folk songs. Just a guitar, harmonica, recorder, and hotblooded/or even hysterical singing. The set of 7 tracks involves lots of energy around there which at times used to evolve into more synergical moments and frantic outbursts. The ending track Chapter Three used to run on piano drops, however, being more contemplative and profound than the rest of the songs. Very beautiful, being the outstanding glimpse on it for me. In conclusion, not bad at all.

Skanderani - Bastard Jingles (2009)

Persona-isla
Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.4

/Reggae, Dub, Crossover, Psychedelic, World music, Experimentalism/

Comment: just three pieces which take on reggae and some World music-confluenced progressions and outlets. Furthermore, psychedelic influences used to be strong and profound reminding of peripheral dub rock sounds either. You can compare it to the likes of Primal Scream, or Asian Dub Foundation, for instance (Sinai Express). Or on the other side, sultry yet gloomy Mariachi-alike themes are shuffled with tabla rhythms and vinyl crackling (Baraka). The last notch Al Moussaouri meanders on rough, resonating bass chords and dusty reed organ-induced vibes and quacks. In a word, the issue having created by Ahmed Moussa is truly viable and consistent.

Ergo Phizmiz - Music For Your Party (2012)

Ergo Phizmiz

9.4

/Plunderphonics, Experimental electronica, Electro pop, Sound collage, Cut and paste, Experimentalism, Avant-garde/

Comment: Ergo Phizmiz, one of the most eminent plunderphonics/sound collage artists is back with his brand new one. There are up 6 tracks which used to extend from propulsive, rhythmic electronica and emotionally gushy, bubbling electro gears and ominously sounding samples to spoken word snippets and orchestrated outtakes shuffled around. Catchy and convincing on any scales.

[Teaser of the day] Darkjet - Let`s Be Godz

Chasing Mars - Spiderweb

Spiderweb (Official music video). from Chasing Mars on Vimeo.

Joey Ripps - For The Minute (2011)

blocSonic
Free Music Archive
Lastfm

9.2

/Urban music, Hip-hop, Rap/

Comment: there are up 6 notches which are about hip-hop and rap through and through. Intense yet gritty mc-ing is backed up with more or less sultry backdrops, more or less undulating synth floatations- samples and soul and funky-soaked vibes. In a word, Joey Ribbs demonstrates his proficiency to select and manage the samples.

Kyoto - Lo que vuelve para vengarse (2010)

La Gramola
Bandcamp

9.4

/Shoegaze, Progressive rock, Art rock, Alternative rock, Experimental indie, Space pop, Psychedelia, Post-rock, Avant-rock/

Comment: Kyoto, a Zaragoza, Spain-based collective pushes off with dizzy cosmic and shoegaze fused guitars-drums-keyboards. A truly eargasmic moment by any means. The following pieces used to continue with the controlled dizziness, more concretely, rocking off with acidic keyboards and intriguing female timbres and singing in Spanish reminding a little of Electrelane. The ditties are characterized by lush textures and murky melodies, spatial gliding and suggestive harmonies. Or endlessly longing interludes like Hasta La Eternidad headed by harmonica-induced motives and drifting ambiances around it. A fabulous issue indeed. In a word, it is our progressive rock, a qualitative next step after Pink Floyd.

Kent State - Walk Through Walls (2011)

Paranoid Futures

Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.6

/Shoegaze, Psych-rock, Noise rock, Avant-rock, Psychedelia, Experimental indie, Alternative rock/

Comment: Nicholas Vance-led project takes on the aesthetics of wall of noise, obsessive glowering guitar mayhem, and sonorous cellophane guitar pop and makes it up in a great way. It is noisy, it is sharp, it is smart simultaneously. Seductive as usual through its powerful psychotic grooves and exulting ridges and riffs. Indeed, though it might seem even simple it punches the listener`s heart and soul. Psychedelic death pop as some of them used to hint at one of the most eminent musical groups at the moment.

[Teaser of the day] Acre4 - Rockspeed

Archive.org

Bankie Phones - werk it 2

Raindeer - Moonstruck EP (2011)

Bandcamp

9.3

/Poptronica, Experimental indie, Disco pop, DIY, Electronic pop, Synth wave, Electro pop, Glo-fi/

Comment: firstly, the coverprint is fabulous, incorporating nowadays and vintage tendencies, glamour and old-fashioned signs. Indeed, similarly to the sleeve this 6-piece issue showcases its borderless playfulness - all those highly effusive, at times retrodelic synth riffs and bubbling synth vibes are embellished with fragile yet somehow whimsical vocal lines and gliding, light-hearted electronica. On the other side, Apocalyptic Love runs on massive disco pop propulsions and stroboscope rays. In a word, this Baltimore-based musical collective provides an impressive glam-fi vision. In any cases, I used to believe in that. It is sexy, it is charming, it is compelling.

The Underscore Orkestra - Balancing Act (2012)

Bad Panda
Lastfm

9.0

/Vaudeville, Swing, Music hall/

Comment: an amusing, one-track appearance reminding of the heydays of vaudevillean, highly swinging pop. Indeed, it used to be a quite authentic representation of it. It involves an array of tempo changes (from very slow to very fast moments) and harmonica-laden chirps which play on a suggestive motif. The notch is sung by female and male voices, thereby creating a lot of pleasant contrasts between the different sides of the piece. The track can be considered an example of a simulacra, yet, it is not because it is very good, i.e being without any deviations.

Phopha - The Bus (2008)

Ground Floor
Jamendo
Lastfm

8.8

/Electronic pop, Found sound, Trip-hop, Musique concrète, Crossover, Modern classical/

Comment: bubbling synth propulsions or more trip-hop/breakbeat-laden rhythms are either set below the piano drops or found sound/street sound-drenched synth and cathedral organ-driven progressions. At times the outlet is more picturesque, sometimes more restraint in its quite onerous developments. The last track exploits a template of rhythm as if melancholic piano driven and Kraftwerk-esque synth whiffs fused pop were mixed up with bhangra-influenced breakbeat punches. In conclusion, this 7-track issue is well composed and accomplished. The project originates from Czech Republic.

[Teaser of the day] Dark Souls Day - Electrify

Hox Vox - Outskirt - Belief: Greed

Brain - The Dogs Side B (2010)

Eye Machine
Eye Machine

8.8

/DIY, Lo-fi, Primitronica, Alt-folk, Psychedelia, Anti-folk, Weird folk, Free folk, Experimentalism, Freeformfreakout/

Comment: these 11 tracks can be considered drunken songs somewhere around the campfire - as we have been having knowledge such kind of action can be appealing at least since Animal Collective`s Campfire Songs. It extends from expanding, in unison produced guitar and vocals in chorus and ferocious guitar strumming to synth-driven instrumental compositions, however, all of that is surrounded with a remarkable amount of gritty, rough hiss. The last track The Dogs is a truly demented one, involving and replacing the elements of electronic cuts and warped folk music and looped rhythm sections and sampledelic bits to each other. In a word, it is a weird shit by Captain Missouri, and C. Russel Lewis. In any cases, the more you listen to it the more beloved it gets for the listener. For instance, 03 (Folding) is an absorbing ditty. In conclusion, The Dogs Side B is a pop and anti pop album at the same time. Is it provoking? Definitely yes.

They Stay Dead - Cursed (2011)

Death To False Hope
Bandcamp

8.0

/Hardcore punk, Pop punk, Hair rock/

Comment: by watching the coverprint and considering the title of this 3-piece issue it may be seem a little bit disorientating because the topics behind it are not so atrocious, though. The tracks used to run on melodic intentions which in turn are shaped by intense rhythmic sections and pop punk guitar hooks and sleazy vocal manner. Furthermore, the singing in chorus and some bombastic guitar riffs remind of the 80`s ridiculous gigs embodied by so-called hair rock/metal/pop metal scene (Europe, Poison, Charizma). In a nutshell - not bad at all because lots of energy used to ooze out of the slots of the issue.

Echthros - lyov (2011)

Assonance
Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.0

/Dark ambient, Ambient, Neoclassical, Sludge metal, Ethereal, Spoken word, Avant-metal, Crossover, Post-metal/

Comment: this issue originates by Echthros (Bartosz Frąckowiak) from Poland who provides 6 long-running progressions (over 54 minutes in all) where orthodox church hymns are crossed with more or less ominous spoken word/and moaning snippets and ethereal floatation/or settling on more abrasive, noiseful/sludge/doom guitar blow-ups. It is solemn and a little ghastly simulatenously, i.e masterfully accentuated and channelized. Altogether, it is the intriguing appearance from its very start to the ending point.

[Teaser of the day] William Wilson - Blank

Archive.org

Bankie Phones - Dragon Scarf (2009)

Future:Komp

9.3

/Robo pop, Industrial techno, Experimental techno, Electroclash, Electronic pop, Electro, Noise/

Comment: Dragon Scarf comprises 9 tracks which used to convey compelling electro/and techno propulsions and visions. More concretely, it chirps like a machine-alike outlook for future days taken out from the middle of a dance floor filled in with fashioned robots and humanoids. More concretely, it veers away from industrial-hued bits, dystopic/paranoid gleaming all of that is backed up with fall-to-pieces or motorik-induced rhythm sequences, though, on the other side, the last track takes on more brassy bounces. Now and then noiseful, intoxicated electro chunks will be surfacing to variegate the ground. Yet, the second track is a great exception sounding truly pop/electro rock/electroclash-appealed in a good sense of this word. Altogether, the soundscape seems to be rigid and lush simultaneously, however, hinting at the quality of the issue. I guess Aldous Huxley would have loved it. Bankie Phones originates from Minneapolis, USA.

2muchachos - Lost In The Mist

2muchachos - lost in the mist from 2muchachos on Vimeo.

Keijo - WHNZ:16:MYTIME (2010)

Bandcamp
Free Music Archive

Lastfm

9.3

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

Comment: the Jyväskylä-based musician Keijo (Virtanen) is a godfather for nowadays Finnish experimental folk musicians, also known as the representatives of so-called Finnish forest folk (the equivalent for Finnish psych folk/New Weird Finland). By his contribution to the Finnish and other countries underground scenes Virtanen can be compared to the likes of Erkki Kurenniemi, and Pekka Airaksinen. However, there are represented a handful of long-running tracks (6 notches spreaded out over 37 minutes) which are profound ones due to their running on flickering incantations and exorcized, shamanic appearances-improvisations. In a word, classic.

Former Babies - The Blackout Album (2011)

Bleeding Gold

8.7

/Acoustic punk, Garage rock, Grrl riot, DIY/

Comment: Former Babies (Moll Ball, and Shawna England) is a duo from the West Coast conveying a set of short-running tracks comprising the twangs of acoustic guitars and sonorous singing all of that is wrapped up by a rebellious feeling. In fact, their template and premiss are quite intriguing because their sound is obviously inspired of punk music, self-conscious grrl riot bands and DIY aesthetics. Though they are not, they could freely be a part of CLLCT, a Bloomington, Indiana-based platform.

[Teaser of the day] Hong Kong In The 60s - Tracker Vale