Catherine Corelli - Through The Gehenna (2010)

Jamendo

8.5

/Rap, Symphonic metal, Classical music, Metal rap, Power metal, Goth, Glam rock, Ethnic, Crossover/

Comment: An obsessive rap style meets symphonic metal`s riffs and operatic singing meet bombastic glam appearances. Yet, it might be the main line of the album only. Indeed, herein can be detected for some oriental-infused psychedelic lines and piano-driven broken beats and electronic shufflings too. My favorite track is Snow where Corelli`s manner is used to be more restrainted than usual and her voice is induced to drown into dream-alike introspection (retrospection?). A solidly accomplished workout by the artist who has released more than 10 issues during last years.

Clinker - Candy Says (Velvet Underground)

Plusplus - Evils (2011)

La bèl
Lastfm

9.2

/Alt-folk, Folktronica, Baroque folk, Chamber folk, Psychedelic, Dark folk, Neofolk, Post-folk, Avant-folk, Art-folk, New Weird Europe/

Comment: In fact, every new issue under the La bèl label is being a big event to date, though this time the label has "failed" in its attempts to stay for a kind of label concerning only on hallmarks from Italy. Of course, this restriction would be ridiculous on its own, especially if to regard a long-time lapse henceforward. However, Plusplus is Adam Radmall coming from the Foggy Albion and shuffling diverse chords, harmonies and moods into a burgeoning output conventionally considered as a sort of (instrumental) folk sound. Yet, there can be heard lots of intrepid dodges toward electronic patterns, ambient-based textures, apocalyptic (folk) tendencies, baroque-esque progressions, darkwave-ish reflexions, bucolic psychedelic tissues and concrete sound snippets sorrounding all of it. By the speculative side, however, you can imagine the possible ideological platform at Evils in a way as if the 60`s folk psychedelia meets Darkwood meets Daniel Figgis meets Penguin Cafe Orchestra. All in all, this album (of 11 tracks) shall have to be listened to lots of time while being the grower by its nature. It is a highly mesmerizing issue indeed.

Talbot - EOS

Rùnar Magnusson - Vacu Sessions 13 (2011)

Vacu Sessions

8.7

/Abstract, Avant-electronica, Glitch-tronica, Experimental electronica, Conceptual,Post-Psychedelic electronica, Experimentalism/

Comment: This is a track of 26 minutes divided into 6 parts by the Icelandic electronic music legend Rùnar Magnusson. Initially those tracks were arranged for the theater piece The Saviour (2007). This set veers from "fault-induced", permanently repeated electronic patterns to subtly droning organ sessions which particularly makes up a near-psychedelic sense. Besides those slightly pop-alike approaches, however, there are rigidly experimentalism-centered pieces and abstract glitch crackles as well.

Light Leak - Graduation EP (2011)

Bandcamp
Lastfm

8.5

/Chillwave, Electronic pop, Post-pop, Dream pop, Glo-fi/

Comment: This is the sophomore release by Henrik Stelter, a 17-year old German-based chillwave/glo-fi producer. Being continuously instrumental, indeed, this is an instance of the old European eleganz und dekadenz. A fine follow-up to his great debut album Thoughts of Mirth (2010).

Mushroom's Patience - Weird Monsters (2011)

Atro-Fact

8.4

/Electronic pop, Post-punk, Experimental pop, New Age, Art-rock, Dark pop, Progressive/

Comment: Dither Craf aka Raffaele Cerroni delivers a bunch of sphere-filled electronic sounds and New Age-like flute sections apparently drenched with rock/post-punk attitude and darkwave-ish experimentalism, which subsequent classification might be a bit problematic. The favorite of mine is Morel (remixed) - (The spirit of the mountain) which reminds me of The Cure`s Picture Of You. Still, by its main attention it is more close to Durutti Column.