NightWake - Relation (2007)

Deadknife

8.5

/Crossover, Cut and paste, Drum and bass, Post-Metal, Chipmetal, Samplecore, Sound collage/

Comment: it happened approximately two weeks ago when I reviewed Burning Of Eterna City`s weird metal/grindcore/nintendocore/eurobeat album And Onward They March With Broken Legs. Actually Nightwake`s 14-pieced album speaks out in similar way consisting of diverse stylistic borders for which the sort of central narrative is quite problematic to define (is it either keen to samplecore project or off-the-wall metal album?). However, it is provocative enough in its manifestos and on the other side showcasing itself as a recherche patchwork compiled of spoken word interludes, sublime guitar fingerpicking, brutal metal outbursts, different kinds of breaks beneath it. My favorite one is Dark Goth which is an outstanding combination of chiptune and convincing metal sound. By the way, the total amount of money Nightwake spent for making this album was 4 bucks.

Youth Lagoon - July + Cannons (2011)

Bandcamp

8.8

/Dream pop, Experimental indie, Glo-fi, Lo-fi, Chillwave, Hypnagogic pop, Avant-pop, Post-pop, Electronic pop, Poptronica/

Comment: Trevor Powers aka Lagoon Youth is one of those nowadays wunderkinds who is chosen to inveigle us with the help of fabulous bows of melody and crafty touches of harmony. If you have previously experienced kind of dreamy, blissed-out collectives like Beach House, Memoryhouse, and Mathemagic you are ready yet what to expect for. More concretely, you do sweep along a trajectory where lo-fi meets glo-fi meets dream pop. While those two tracks do not speak about your life, instead writing up your (more or less) exact states of mind, it is really worth to listen to.

Zoos of Berlin - Electrical Way

Mua - Mua EP (2011)

Clinical Archives

9.2

/Post-punk, Industrial rock, Alternative rock, experimental rock, Gothic rock/

Comment: Behind Mua is Dani(e)l Telegin, a towering post-punk/gothic punk/rock musician from Samara, Russia. By pertaining of those aforementioned syles, as usual, dominating, oppressive vocal manner and grave content of lyrics (speaks out passionlessly and blandly about the facts of daily life, about murky shades and moments constituting different frames of mind) is backed up with meticulous, massive drum lines, industrial-inflected grit, and playfully designed guitars and its feedbacks/and overdrives and majestic synth whiffs in the backdrop. In conclusion, the whole of 4 tracks finishes off as a graceful unit ringing out in a harmonious way (as much as such obscure music could ever make it out). However, this EP can be compared to the music of Astma, Joy Division, Kino, Einstuerzende Neubauten. All the lyrics are sung in Russian (in fact, to get benefit from it).

Tiny Fireflies - Snow

Ostin - Delirium (2011)

Enough
Lastfm

8.0

/Darkwave, Experimental electronica, Darkbeat, Dark ambient, Avant-garde, Neoclassical/

Comment: Delirium starts out with sultry slo-mo beats which are densely surrounded by dark-hued ambiences and moaning electronic undercurrents. In principle, it continues running in similar way up to the ninth track, to the end, however, adding and abandoning rough electronic effects, glitch-frayed tangents, orchestrated snippets and less or more audible drilling forays in favor of diversifying the general picture of the concept. Laid-back magnetic wind blows off sometimes. For the majority of the time Ostin (a project from Russia) used to succeed in its doings (at times it seems to be way too stuttering either). The favorite of mine is a track, called as Sear.

Desperadow – I Found God (2010)

Long Lost

8.8

/Experimental indie, Singer-songwriter, Lo-fi, DIY, Alt-folk, Nu grunge, Fuzz pop, Crossover, Indie pop, Alternative, Leftfield/

Comment: Behind the pseudonym Desperadow hides himself Chris Nolan, a hermit from Dublin who offers a 9-track set on the Long Lost label (the same label whose kick-off album was Hipster Youth`s second, superb album Teenage Elders). As provoking as the album`s coverprint used to be the main concept is made up by directing its spot on a corybantic blend of folk/singer-songwriter-ism and nu grunge, bristled psychedelia/even exotica pop, lo-fi/DIY and mellow indie pop songs/and ballads. However, you can detect herein for some similarities with Smashing Pumpkins, Beta Band, Andy`s Airport of Love, Blur, Nirvana, Beck and other similar kinds of artists.