Blackbird Blackbird - Halo (2011)

Bandcamp

/Chillwave, Glo-fi, Experimental indie, Shoegazetronica, Dream pop, Lo-fi, Electronic pop/

8.2

Comment: Blackbird Blackbird (previously known as Bye Bye Blackbird - at the time of releasing his music under the Arcade Sound Ltd label yet) is the solo-project of 23-year old vocalist/producer Mike Maramag, being one of the most prominent heroes in the nowadays chillwave/glo-fi scene. Here are 17 tracks compiled of B-sides and previously unreleased songs. Unlike many other chillwave/glo-fi artists he is more keenly used to wade through shoegaze-infected landscapes too. No doubt, by listening to it you can detect for some of the feats with mighty hit potential. For instance, Fly (feat. Steffaloo) which is one of the three most beautiful tracks heard AD 2011.

Lavalsa - Lavalsa (2011)

Sinewave

8.5

/Shoegaze, Indie rock, Alternative rock, Psychedelic, Noise pop, Power pop/

Comment: A simply rocking shoegaze- and power pop influenced 4-track album by a Brazilian quartet under Sinewave, the label which has delivered some great albums (i.e Hangin Freud`s Sunken; This Lonely Crowd`s An Endless Moment Everyday All The Time, and Entangled Chaos; Loomer`s Coward Soul, for instance). Behind Lavalsa`s concept can be apprehended lots of swayings between silentful leadoffs and noiseful, near-epic outbursts, joyous playings on dissonants and consonants, in a more concrete way, you can perceive influences veering from Sonic Youth-hued guitar stumblings and My Bloody Valentine-like chord alchemy to slightly psychedelic Smashing Pumpkins-esque powerful hooks, catchy ascendings and organic calmings.

Sturqen - Pertal

c0ld l▲k3 - Lanceton Ice Factory, Magic Hour (2011)

Parafago

7.7

/Witch house, Drag, Experimental electronica, Avant-garde, Weird pop, Plunderphonics/

Comment: In fact, for all of those people who have erlier made acquaintance with c0ld l▲k3`s oeuvres the recent issue makes up some surprise though. It sounds like a skeletonal approach of witch house-alike madness. A bleak, abrasive soundscape, which seems to be running on digital hisses and dust, does make strongly sense. Yet, within it there are some lightest moments as well. For example, Robocop makes itself out as a fine instance of afrofuturistic/voodoo funk mongrel. Or Detroit 9000, which does have strong references toward the seminal scenes of Detroit club music.

The Heather - HOLIDAY 0061 (2011)

Holiday Records

8.2

/Indie pop, Neokrautrock, Electronic, Baroque pop, Glo-fi, Poptronica/

Having nothing more to add but this is a catchy, balanced, well-grown indie pop on its own. The second track Like There`s Now Tomorrow is a case of neokrautrock having a decent pop melodic hooks, the lead-off notch Why Do You Laugh, on the other side, is relied upon crumbly focused poptronica.

The Macadamia Brothers - Tiger Sauce (2009)

Bandcamp
Lastfm

8.4

/Indie folk, Folk indie, Alt-folk, Singer-songwriter, Experimental folk/

Comment: Actually I want and can still remember for those days when Scott Milligan aka The Macadamia Brothers recorded for the now defunct Rack & Ruin Records, sounding like a torch bearer for the New Weird Canada movement. Whatever, this 9-track album is less involved in ecstatic states of songwriting, yet there are some sparkling indie folk/alt-folk moments by set out for us.

pequena fiera! - hello,cupid