Jani Hirvonen: Field Recordings From India & Nepal (2007/2010)

OM HA SVA HA KSHA MA LA VA RA YAM
Free Music Archive

7.5

/Field recording, Found sound, Audio documentary, Musique concrete, Non music/

Comment: This is an audio documentary based on one man`s wandering and recording in the Hindustan Peninsula and Nepal. Although not always used to be the best in the quality of sound, however, during those 103 minutes you can be a witness to the street sounds, temple incantations, wedding outtakes and nature sounds (birds and camels) surrounding you tightly right and left. Juxtapose it with an analogous yet more elaborated and purposed output by Oscar Coen Polack, titled as The Skipping Monk (Recordings Of Nature And Culture In India) (2009, Narrominded). Deserving thanks in any cases.

Bombay Laughing Club - The Golden Years (2007)

Peppermill
Lastfm

8.8

/Avant-blues, Improvised music, Avant-garde, Experimental indie, Psychedelic, Crossover, Experimental pop/

Comment: This is a off-kilter blues-based album by a loosely related Canadian treeplanters combo filling their resting time between the job. Most of the songs seem to run in the vein of improvised jams reminding of the Captain Beefheart and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion or The Doors`s La Woman at its more ordinary moments. Sometimes the combo`s experiments used to crisscross the borders of the blues music, reaching out the realms of krautrock, raga music, just a case of proper indie rock (You Want It All) and even the cases of humour (for instance, Blue Berry which sounds like a mocking version of the kind of Rednex`s eurobeat disco). Or Slippery Sleep which is an immense run on the Stereolab-alike art pop/experimental indie in the first part.

Winstonmcnamara - As the Majic Brain

John Praw - John Praw (2011)

Archive.org
Mine All Mine
Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.2

/Ambient, Post-rock, Soundscape, Minimal, Modern classical, Experimental electronica, Crosover, Dark ambient/

Comment: This is the debut album by a musician previously known as [praw] and who founded the Mine All Mine Records. However, his concept is revealed through 10 tracks recorded in 2006-2011 in Wisconsin and in Norway. The basis of the album relies on a kind of refined atmosphericness running mainly on the ambient mode, beyond it recruiting the elements from the realm of post-rock and modern classical as well. Praw is skillful enough for playing up the counterparts of diverse sonic elements against each other - all those blissfully light-hearted sounds are filtrated through the dark-hued zones. However, there can admit some exceptions either - for instance, the starting track Vokaler watches for such progressions as similar to Sigur Ròs or På Jakttur is a sort of the Kraftwerkian dream set up on the rule of ambient music. In most cases, Praw`s result can be compared to the ones by Mark Nelson aka Pan American.

Choking on Entrails - Black Mass (2011)

Torn Flesh

8.0

/Grindcore, Black metal, Goregrind, Experimental metal/

Comment: Actually it is quite hard to say something extraordinary while reviewing a sequent goregrind/grindcore album (in true, the recent album is compiled of the details of the both aforementioned genres). It might be just to hint at one issued next in order. Business as usual - very short-running tracks are filled in with this ultra low and indistinguishable moaning and guitar noodling and heavily pondering drums. Black Mass is an one-man result by Andrew Shore At least by listening to it in the early morning it makes much impression. Not thought to be listened by everyone but thrown in the air for the fans of extreme metal for sure.

The Widowers - Central Discount (2010)

Bandcamp

8.7

/Alternative rock, Blues rock, Art-rock/

Comment: This is the sophomore issue by the Widowers, an US-based group. Except the introducing track Roger Explains Death (which rings out as if Richard Hawley`s subtle crooning meets Radiohead`s Creep), the other 6 notches on it are just the instances of dynamical guitar workouts with the strong influences of blues rock, more concretely reflecting through it upon the connections with grunge rock at times. Indeed, lots of catchy hooks with chiming yet dense progressions can be met within it. However, if to see similar bands as the White Stripes and the Racounters they have paid tribute to the black music tradition either. A pleasant and useful listening indeed.

The Pax Cecilia - The Progress