Mequetrefe - Play off (2010)

Mequetrefe
Mequetrefe/Bandcamp

9.4

/Alternative rock, Shoegaze, Post-rock, Psychedelic, Space rock, Experimental rock/

Comment: I am not used to think that post-rock in traditional manner (instrumental crescendo-biased rock/up`n`down guitar-based moving) could save somebody`s life. However, quite rare some groups are able to offer a high-stake for the certain genre, i.e coming across the borders of expectations. Mequetrefe is such a quintet coming from Spain, coalescing post-rock with psychedelia, towering exultations of shoegaze, and lush electronic undercurrents. Some post-metal elements are visible here, though, being expressed a bit weaker than the abovementioned influence realms. And even John Barry-esque airy and blissful harmonica snippets are on the screen. This is a potent accomplishment which contains lots of gems indeed. Imagine as if My Bloody Valentine (or Mercromina - the another and actually more famous indie band from the Iberian Peninsula) meets God Is An Astronaut.

Alexei Rafiev, Alexei Borisov, Olga Nosova - Demon Onegin (2010)

Clinical Archives
Archive.org

8.6

/Spoken word, Conceptual, Avant-garde, Minimal electronica, Mystical, Microtonal, Avant-electronica, Experimental electronica, Downbeat, Noir, Freeformfreakout, Minimal techno, Dark ambient, Illbient, Electro-acoustic/

Comment: Duo Rafiev-Borisov continues their way offering a blend of spoken word and digitally processed austere sounds. This time the duo is complemented by Olga Nosova who operates with electronics and sonic effects and plays bass and drums. More concretely, the album is revolving around the texts of great Russian poets Pushkin and Lermontov, which is wrapped up by bent human voices, exalted and resigned declamation, dense drill-alike snippets and its hisses, and of course, "faulty", constantly interrupting electronic soundscapes. It is a spasm-filled oeuvre, moving inbetween acoustic shades and electronic luridness. All in all, at times rigid, sometimes playful.

pous - VPLE (2011)

Noecho

8.7

/Hip-hop, Noise, Crossover, Avant-garde, Psychedelic, Experimental, Avant-hop, Noise-hop/

Comment: This is a crossover issue of psych-out hip-hop, digitally crackling and droning-beaming noise, though, lots of other sounds are adhered with them here as well (cut and paste aesthetics, warped ambient, off-kilter psychedelia). Indeed, all the stuff is built upon rough and bleak sonic skeletons. It is the other sort of hip-hop having no similar intentions with mainstream/gangsta music/rap. It is guite similar to such acts as Dälek, Techno Animal, and Kid 606.

SineRider - Ambivert (2011)

BFW Recordings

8.5

/Ambient, Subtle soundfields, Soundscape, Post-rock, Ambient rock/

Comment: At first, all the kick proceeds off with evolving into soothing and wide-scale yet austere soundscapes, which in the middle of the issue tends to grow upon more post-rock-ish realms, wherein guitar chords are drenched into a dream-filled fog. Yet, the best moment is a track called Dream Sequence which is static and dynamic simultaneously on its own, fluttering in effect-based escapism. The album - which can be called an instance of classical ambient sound - finds its closure in the similar way as it embarked on.

Enko - Dush (2010)

Bypass

8.7

/Experimental techno, Avant-techno, Breakbeat, Abstract techno, Dub-tech, Lo-fi/

Comment: An Ukrainian techno-biased gearhead and rhythmic alchemist goes on his way, in this case exploring the fringes of breakbeat space infected with a strong hit of experimentalism, including lots of pitch effect-aesthetics, elemental layerings, strongly rumbling side channels and cosmic loops. However, it is an example of progressive music of the 21th century. By the way, at times the samples of real bass guitar are exploited for and dub undercurrents and lo-fi-backed pace combinations will be showcased.

Bendle - Tattered Tongues (2008)

Bandcamp

9.0

/Eccentric pop, Avant-garde, Doo wop, Dark folk, Avant-pop, Non music, Experimentalism, Musique concrete, Weird pop, Darkwave, Noir/

Comment: Bendle's effort is a kind of invisible, wraith-alike monster in nowhere man`s land somewhere filled in with vanguard-ish sonic ruins and having impressive while seamless drifts inbetween experimental pop music and just experimental music (experimentalism). By the way, are you loving the sound of Robert Wyatt for instance? Well, in this case you apparently will love this 15-track issue as well. The year was then 2008 and while listening to some murky moments and watching the symbols (triangles, unusual serif typefaces) at the coverprint, might it be the album was a case about witch house/drag music already?

Birds Build Nests Underground - Cold Dreams (2009)

KLaNGundKRaCH
Mediafire

8.7

/Dystopbient, Illbient, Sound collage, Plunderphonics, Avant-garde, Lobit, Film noir, Repetitronica, Hauntology, Acousmatic, Experimentalism, Musique concrete, Microsound, Sampledelic/

Comment: Eeehh...it is an idiosyncratically off-kilter set of two tracks by its formal stand, the last of them running over 33 minutes. The album is "just" about malignant ambient music, near-experimental jazz snippets and a lush repeating film score sample gear, having lots of phase changes over its course. All the sound of a duo is wrapped up by a mighty, hiss-backed mist.