The Arctic Flow Club 7 003 (Club 7)

Supposedly everyone who is got deeply digged into the discography of the Holiday Records is not surprised at all to hear about such a name as the Arctic Flow, behind it is Brian Hancheck, a profilic musician from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Approximately a half year ago he released a pair of singles under Beko DSL as well. However, now it is proper time for another single label Club 7. Hancheck`s soundscape is profoundly dreamy and floating, consisting mainly of subtle indie pop numbers with certain shoegaze influences. On the other way, it could be described as shoegaze music without massive touch of abrasive guitars and psychedelic entering into a chaotic inner world, instead of it used to be reserved for nicely suffusing guitar chords driving over the middle layers of the sound. Though, it can be sounded psychedelic as well. First of all, if you are in to dedicate your time to such British indie luminaries as Slowdive, Ride, and Chapterhouse (especially the last named one) or have listened to music released under the label Slumberland, this release of 2 tracks (Sentiments and Artifacts; King of the Flood) is thought for you.

Listen to it here

8.9

[Artists] Modern Warships

Model Warships/Bandcamp
Tavern Eightieth
BeatIsMurder
Myspace
Lastfm

Plantae Pinguin (Qulture Production)

Plantae comes from Izhevsk, the Udmurtian Republic, the Russian Federation, having previously released the albums Feld, and Distance under the likes of Datenbits, and 8081, respectively. Pinguin does offer 7 tracks within 35 minutes. On the site of Qulture Production, on the record site, the album is being described as "minimal toy techno", "acoustic", and "IDM". No, doubt, any kind of experiments with toytronica, with its mellow sense of fluctuant harmonic crests has been quite popular in those days, giving some different touches and angles of views to our weary listening experiences to be changed, at least a little. In addition to it, however, it can be mentioned to have a cute cartoon-esque coverprint and all the track names are titled in German (Wanderung; Entspannung, Schwimmen; Niedergang etc). However, regarding penguins (or pinguins as a kind therefore showing up its deviation in reference to the IDM-based conceptions), such an infantile soundscape, and folktronic-infused album, it is impossible not to see a connection between Plantae`s recent issue and the minimal approach of Penguin Cafe Orchestra (Pinguin is used to express itself especially on this mode in the beginning of the album). No doubt, all of those samples of unconventional instruments imbued with synthetic cadences do construct an organic whole here. A solid work indeed.

Listen to it here

9.0

[Artists] Fescal

1798
Bypass
Black Square
Fescal/Bandcamp
Lastfm

Friendship Home (Friendship)

The easiest way to describe the Australian Nic Brown`s release would be to put it into a mould being set up somewhere between Panda Bear`s (Noah Lennox) solo works and chillwave-ish point of view. (By the way, one track, being one of the most mellow ones is named Noah_Frienship and Friendship Bands). 11 tracks are tensely fulfilled by pitched or reversed vocals, repeated chords, programmed glockenspiels, half-loaded orchestrations, synth effects, fingerpicked guitar echoes, and epic harmonies as well. On the other side, its methodology is sometimes used to be based upon loose and primitivistic approach which can be admitted as its best at Sexy Bones, or idiosyncratically brassy soulful tunes (Hip). Obviously Optim 2 is a quintessential example of having respectively built up on lo-fi and nicely tuned harmonies. This album might have been a top notch if the balance had more keened to involve more melodies and harmonies into its whole. Lethargically characterized sonic patterns are not for to be the best case for Brown`s music, though.

Listen to it here

8.4

[Artists] Illnathix

Illnathix
Qulture Production
Nihilistic Droid
Shkart
TRASHFUCK NET/Records
Punk Ist Pop
Amduscias
Skrow! Media
Mind Noise Disintegration
Sarutra`s Music

Joxfield ProjeX Numbers & Letters (Clinical Archives)

Yet one year ago the Swedish pop music seemed to have strongly been associated with the sound of fields, sunshine and colourful flowers. You even know, such beautiful and safe, yet masterful and well-produced conceptions which fulfilled the task of muzak in the certain way. (The muzak as music is such a kind of listening object which is used to be predictable, i.e, keeping to live its own life from the very start without needing much attention and reasoning anymore). However, all my premisses were changed since I heard Joxfield ProjeX, by Yan and Oax leaded ensemble which showed up really deep and ungraspable point of view.

In fact, there has been a lot of albums within a year: Bits And Pieces# 1-13; Picnic; Virtual Dreams & Realities; Shimmering Mah No 1; Phantastique; and recently, Oddities And Rarities 2005-2010. No one of them were failed. Moreover, all the aspects of serious and intellectual-minded rock music were profoundly investigated on the aforementioned issues: from the progressive rock to the open-minded and over-the-edge-pouring space rock, ambient techno and kosmische musik conceptions.

A new one is compiled of 24 tracks (or 3 CD sets), including cooperation snippets of such luminaries as Pat Mastoletto, Geoff Leigh, and Kenji Siratori among other guests. It might be seem in comparison with the duo`s previous works it does sound more free jazz-y, incorporating the elements of pompous electro-rock/baggy-ish breakbeats, in Japanese spoken word, dream-loaded and hazy flute improvisations, ragga-rhythms and tanpura-sitar drones. However, it is obviously the first time when a release by their side seems to be a bit loose (or extrovert as it is already said), sometimes "uncomposed", based mainly on free improvised jams, or on the other side, sinking into the mould of avant-prog bottom. On the last third of the album, however, it smashes its head spot getting intensely to haze its boundaries and breaking on the other side. Though my top notch and recommendation is previously Oddities And Rarities 2005-2010, yet, those 24 tracks are very important part to get completed the whole regarding Joxfield ProjeX`s sound and conception. The whole picture of them became even more indistinct. And it is excellent, of course. By a Joker`s point of view indeed.

Listen to it here

9.2