Les Enfants Sales - V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (2011)

Zorch Factory
Lastfm
Madame B

9.6

/Art punk, No wave, Avant-garde, Dark wave, Apocalyptic folk, Neofolk, Post-punk, Noir, Experimental rock, Noise rock, Gothic punk, Crossover/

Comment: Les Enfants Sales is anything but ordinary. The French band consists of Chris Zèro, and Madame B, the latter of them has been very profilic in her doings, who, by any means, could be compared with such outstanding vanguard-ish (female) punkers as Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Lydia Lunch, and Linder. This 10-track album showcases a brooding art punk/no wave/gothic punk/cutting edge post-punk approach, yet on the other side having murky flirtations with apocalyptic folk/dark wave-esque muses. More detailly, those slowed-down incantations are craftily varied with noisy mayhems, in the midst of it Madame B used to intone or even groan her wraithful manifestations. Furthermore, the closure track Exi ab eo is a martial anthem centered around Zèro`s angst-filled shouting, Madame B`s reverberations, all of that assisted by medieval flute whiffs and ghastly sounding theremin. A superb issue indeed. This is our punk rock for sure.

Diym - Nine (2011)

Diym

8.6

/Alt-folk, Singer-songwriter, Indie folk, Dream folk, Alternative pop/rock, Soft rock, Folk indie,Dance rock, Electro-rock/

Comment: this is already the ninth compilation by the Diym label. Here are represented such artists as 4our5ive6ix, Revolt at the Robot Factory, Five Star Debauchery, John Burns, Lothian 121, The Orange Strips, and Pete Davis. The miscellany has its focus stretched out from introspective alternative folk ditties to mainstream-appealed heavy guitar riff-based songs, from dance rock/new wave/electro-rock grooves to soft rock/bombastic pop scopes to dream folk appearances.

Evil Men Have No Songs - Home Tonight

Strange Shapes - Slow Sound/Mild Doubt (2011)

Bandcamp

9.0

/Alternative pop/rock, Art rock, Jangle pop, Indie rock/

Comment: mere 2 track-single by a quartet of Brooklynites. Especially the first of them, Slow Sound, is greatly bound up in harmony process and bubblegum cadences. These singles are surrounded by a touch somehow reminiscent of the aesthetics of the 70`s English new wave/art rock/post-punk bands (Echo & Bunnymen; Durutti Column, Teardrop Explodes). Somehow nostalgic and permanently elegant in its path. By the way, these notches were firstly recorded for the Japanese version of their EP.

Lovegrenade - Lovegrenade (2011)

Jamendo

Af-music
Bandcamp
Lastfm

8.5

/Garage rock, Alternative rock, Fuzz rock, Psychedelic rock, Rockabilly, Psych-rock/

Comment: three musicians from Tel Aviv reconvened in the rehearsal room to complete the debut album just in a 24 hour live session. However, the process seems to be succeeded in the very planned way. Dynamical garage rock base is embellished with some rockabilly touch, never to be functioning boring somehow. At times it reminds of Sonic Youth.

Sledding With Tigers - The Hill Sheep (2010)

Bandcamp
Mediafire
Lastfm

8.7

/Crossover, Punk rock, Country, Bluegrass, Folk, Vaudeville/

Comment: when this 8-track album was issued at the end of 2010, it consisted of two members only - Dan Faughnder (guitar, banjo, mandolin, vocals), and Sam Juneman (violin, vocals). Although the album/combo is already compared with Andrew Jackson Jihad, Bright Eyes, and Defiance Ohio, this issue with short-running tracks takes on a brutally amusing crossbreeding of Southern-rooted styles (country, bluegrass, vaudeville folk) and on the other side, punk rock/easycore. And the coverprint is impressive. Spectacular.

Without Time – Trap (2011)

Dystopiaq

8.8

/Post-rock, Epic, Alternative pop/rock, Post-metal, Crososver, Experimental rock/

Comment: Without Time are Sasha Kondrashov and Yan Kolomytsky from Grodno, Belorussia who offer one, 6-minute track Trap. Posture-filled majestic rock/metal drive is ornamented with melancholic piano-headed frames and enjoyable guitar warbles in the midst of the track. And of course, the coverprint is nice.