Kent State - Challenger B​/​W 2814 (2011)

Bandcamp

9.2

/Fuzz pop, Noise rock, Post-punk, Sheogaze, Alternative rock/

Comment: a combo from Baltimore, Maryland. Cellophane-coated guitars and roughly stomping drums coming out from the compartment of shoegaze and post-punk music. In a word, two noiseful ditties which seem to be quite unusual. Awesome indeed.

Due Samoani - Saturae Cubiculae (2011)

Paragrafo

9.4

/Experimental rock, Art rock, Avant-blues, Experimental indie, Avant-rock, Noise rock, Post-industrial/

Comment: this is a classy sequel to Samoani`s masterpiece Early Tapes (2011, Paragrafo). If Early Tapes did have concentration more on krautrock-ish and wicked rock explorations then this new one used to gather both grits of experimental rock and innovative indie touch. Of course, there are represented much more as well (Captain Beefheart-esque abrasive blues rock, noisy art rock). By the way, all these instrumental notches are entitled with the names of famous basketball players worldwide.

Turrks - Bisbee (2011)

Beko DSL
Lastfm

9.3

/Psych-rock, Experimental rock, Psychedelia, Alternative rock, Noise rock/

Comment: heavily reverb-loaded psych-rock/psychedelia from Oakland, California. A shitloads of massive guitar washes and arrogant, manifesting vocal lines a la Mark E Smith (The Fall) which ultimately makes out an excellent result.

The Forced Oscillations - Doomed

Worst - Light? (2011)

Jamendo

8.8

/Noise, Ambient noise, Harsh noise, Psycho-acoustic, Dystopbient, Experimentalism, Avant-garde/

Comment: Worst is Juan Rodriguez aka S.S aka DJ Virus Maker coming out from the southern hemisphere (Santa Elena, Argentina). These 5 tracks are deeply soaked with different sorts of noise - from digitally harsh, malignant kinds of signal-relied pulsations to massively thudding plateaus (which in turn are encompassed with the high frequencies of crackles) to more expressive, atmosphere-loaded or even symphony-biased intakes. For instance, Cancer Kisses (Nightmare 04) is a superb track. Thematically the issue is inspired by lesbians, nightmares, and coma.

Chiptots - Chip Goes Pop (2008)

Chederrecords
Lastfm

9.0

/Chiptune, Electronic pop, Covers, Bitpop, 8-bit, Tracker music, Nintendocore/

Comment: actually the title used to say all. Older and newer pop songs (by Jackson 5; Katy Perry; Ben E. King; A-Ha; Cyndi Lauper; Spice Girls) are mixed up and designed into a sawtooth-shaped monstrums in a good way. Highly energetic and creepily nostalgic, however.

Bark Cat Bark - Á Lífi (2009)

Povlja
Lastfm

8.8

/Chamber pop, Art-pop, New Age, Experimental indie, Post-rock, Modern classical, Crossover, Classical music/

Comment: Bark Cat Bark was Josh Todd`s solo project, being in action from 2004 to 2009. He had released a handful of albums. Á Lífi was one of his last issues. Soothing orchestrations, enthralling transitions from one fragment to another, some New Age-ish voyages, lone piano-driven reverberations and majestic post-rock-ish ascensions. And of course, accordion-based Paris street music makes always sense. By the way, shortly after he ended up with the activity some yobbos accused him of stealing other people`s oeuvre. Of course, it turned out to be a ridiculous and completely false case. In fact, there may be found out some similarities with Yann Tiersen, and Beirut, for instance, yet, could there be just one person who is able to abandon the legacy of the previous and contemporary eras to introduce his/her absolutely idiosyncratic experience onward? Inevitably not. One cultural layer was pulled out from the previous ones and thereafter heaped up on other ones.