Inverness - Illuminaciones (2010)

Archive.org

7.8

/Alternative pop/rock, Drone rock, Pomp rock, Psychedelic, Shoegaze/

Comment: A quartet from Chile (not to be confused with the same-titled groups from Brazil and the USA, respectively) playing up massive (even bombastic) alternative rock carcasses with some elements of shoegaze and psychedelia. Most of the tracks are guided by guitars, and the residual notches are the keyboard-based ones (at the time of droning organs accompanied with long vocal chords, however, it resembles strongly of Sigur Ros). All the tracks are sung in Spanish. Subsequently, although well-elaborated notches on its own, way too much sugar contain some parts of the Illuminaciones at times.

Ataque Escampe - no Planeta Furancho

Utrovortu - Byt' kak myshi-polevki (2011)

Clinical Archives

9.3

/Avant-rock, Krautrock, Improvisation, Free jazz, Conceptual, Dark pop, Singer-songwriter, Experimentalism, Experimental rock, Avant-garde/

Comment: This interdisciplinary collective coming from Saint Petersburg (Sankt Peterburg), from the northern capital city of Russia was previously known as The Pigeons and the Insane Porridgemakers (having issued albums on Clinical Archives as well). However, they used to be previously very insane, making out an impressive patchwork of diverse styles. In principle, all is built on borderless improvisation, veering from experimental pop and freely floating krautrock a la Faust (the first contemporary indie band of the world) to free jazz and bucolic singer-songwriter-ism and just dark-hued pop (even darkwave). Moreover, some explorations within electro-indie/synth rock and space rock and free jazz and dense sonic effect compartments are also carried out herein. In the second part of the issue can be detected for the rhythm experimentation on the Casio Tonebank synths (cheap but very effective keyboards) either. In a nutshell, the Byt' kak myshi-polevki embodies a finely balanced yet very intriguing album. Actually this is all what we can expect from the music, isn`t?

Blood Ruby - Recent Songs (2011)

 

Jamendo

  

 9.4

 /Shoegaze, Dream pop, Art-rock, Alternative rock, Dark pop, Ethereal, Epic/

Comment: Honestly, I could not resist to this album coming from New Haven, USA evoking so much pleasant memories in my mind. Initially being released in 2006/and 2007 the Recent Songs comes over to keep refreshing different traditions, more concretely, living up to the mellow dream pop and shoegaze scenes, and ethereal pop and symphonic metal tradition (in true, the last named one used to be allowed mainly through mezzo-drenched or operatic style-ish vocal lines at times). The band started off in 2001, and having been line-upped by Cynthia Conrad, Margaret Browning, and Thomas Wall. Indeed, all the set of 7 tracks by the trio is filled in with monumental sounds resembling of Cocteau Twins, Love Spirals Downwards, Autumn`s Grey Solace, even Beth Gibbons & Portishead at Remains of the Day, Jane Siberry, and many other artists. Yet, in total sum it is essentially idiosyncratic phenomenon on its own, thereby finding a compartment in my heart.

Nihil Limit - Drifting EP (2011)

17 Sons
Jamendo

8.6

/Minimal techno, Electro, Electro pop/

Comment: First of all, a meticolously adequate description can be borrowed from the 17 Sons` website. /...made by drifted machines producing linear, techno grooves with impulsive modulated sounds/. Indeed, it sounds like a vulnerable Krafwerk-esque template in the 21th century based on minimal layering, more profoundly, on the sequencer-evoked beats with moderately dosed but at times progressing electro torrents in it. As once Karl Bartos said in his interview to the Estonian newspaper Postimees that people should more listen to the Beatles than nowadays minimal techno (reportedly overwhelmingly prevailing in Berlin) because the former lacks of melodies (to be remembered every band needs to have it as Kraftwerk once had it). Regarding the Nihil Limit`s sound, indeed it is being devoid of having melodies in the classical perspective (and apparently cannot be remebered either), yet, the whole is embellished with harmonic halo oozing from the rhythm structures (and coming still close to Kraftwerk`s sensitive robots). In a nutshell, although having no vision about this quite profilic artist`s previous workouts, the recent issue (of 5 tracks) makes hugely sense now and here.

Pretty Swans - Burning Love (2011)

Miriam Kaukosalo - It's The Tooth (2011)

Bakery Allstars inc

8.8

/Electro-rock, Indie pop, Singer-songwriter, Experimental indie, Primitive pop, Lo-fi, DIY/

Comment: Although having no idea and knowledge about who Miriam Kaukosalo is, her short-running release is a gem for sure. Only the 5-track set within less than 10 minutes, Kaukosalo shows off DIY-based uncrompromising pop power where can be perceived proto electronic indie with heavy reverberation and propulsive rhythms (Culver City) a la The Silver Apples, or catchy harmony-loaded vocals moving on alongside primitivistic paces (Bolla), or an astonishing indie ballad (D.A.M.P) with some really straightforward (even filthy) sentences and intentions. All in all, it is probably Kaukosalo`s vista about punk rock.