Simon Bird - V (2011)

Bandcamp

9.3

/Poptronica, Post-psychedelic electronica, DIY, Epic, Shoegazetronica, Electronic pop, Experimental indie/

Comment: Simon himself sent me this album and he did it f..king rightly indeed. He is a young composer from Dublin, Ireland who makes an astonishing sound comprising the elements of solemn-angled shoegaze, sober post-psychedelic electronica, DIY-ish "wastelands" and "junkyards" backed up with the "disaffected" rhythms of big beat and downtempo. You could call it urban tribalism if you wish. While you can see the traces drawn upon the likes of Fuck Buttons, M83, and Seefeel, yet, his sound seems to be even more variable thus being more powerful and sympathetic (except Seefeel). Unlike M83 Bird`s sound is not heavily soaked in sugar or so monotonously running regarding vis-à-vis with Fuck Buttons. His project can also be compared with Superficial Random Knowledge Porridge, a mesmerizing Sankt Peterburg, Russia-based duo. However, for instance, listen to Bird`s track Baphomet Vs. The Great Winged Horse II and you can probably see the dubliner does have a huge potential to be discovered and approved. A great output of 5 tracks for sure.

Shelby Sifers - The Food Pyramid

Athletes in Paris - Heartbeat (2011)

Bandcamp

8.5

/Remixes, Alternative pop/rock, House, Soul, Dance rock, Speed garage, Alternative dance, Electro/

Comment: it is a quintet from UK, offering up a single with 5 versions/remixes of it. Indeed, yet bubblegum-ish, dance-appealed track Heartbeat will further be buried under the layers of synthetic sound and natural drum beat will be displaced by house vibes and frequencies in the most dramatic remix by Francophilippe Little Bit Daft Punk Edit which consists of vocoder effects and glamorous ambiance within it. There is also dull 80`s DiscoTape Remix, an acoustic version at BBC 6 Music Live Session, speed garage-ish/electro-soaked/jungle-infected Stevey P Remix, and more soul-tinged AJS Remix.

Lanark - Historia Naturalis (2005)

Newform8

10.0

/Avant-garde, Dark ambient, Experimentalism, Noise, Illbient, Avant-electronica, Abstract, Hauntology, Dystopbient, Avant-industrial, Martial music, Neoclassical, Abstract electronica, Epic/

Comment: Lanark is a composer from Buenos Aires, Argentina who has let his recognizable trace on the field of experimental/avant-garde/electronica/dark ambient/neoclassical music. He has issued lots of albums and shared the record labels (Comfort Stand; WM Recordings) with such legends as Big City Orchestra, R Stevie Moore, Dan Deacon, Chenard Walcker, Phil Reavis, Roy "Chicky" Arad, Jan Turkenberg, Happy Elf and others. However, this 18-track opus takes on an epic vision observed from the dystopic, oppressive point of view. The compositions are filled in with endless, dirge-drenched echoes and undertones as if the world were conquered by ghastly, truly malicious creatures. Indeed, his notches extend from pessimistic, glacial glow-dazzled ambient to wraith-alike (neo)classical conjuring at the portals of death. By now and then Lanark used to exploit more tenuous, bleak electronica, reminding of the first steps made by electronic music pioneers once many decades ago (for instance, Desmond Leslie, Pierre Schaeffer, Vladimir Ussachevsky). All in all, you must listen to the legend`s classic one.

Ingemar Stalholm - About a Year EP (2011)

Bleepsequence

9.2

/Dub house, Glitchtronica, Remixes, Tech-house, Dubstep, Dub-tech, Club dance/

Comment: the Swede Ingemar Stalholm provides a set of 6 tracks, half of them are remixes by the way. Anyway, I can only say nice words about his mesmerizing dub house/dub-tech/tech-house grooves and more progressive (dubstep) sequences at times demonstrating its more glistening yet always highly charming side. Sometimes the impetus will be slowed down to the extent of changing the oeuvre into ingurgitating, glitch-like vision. More detailly, those droning, acidic synth undercurrents and drifting plateaus of sounds do function as special components on it.

Ashbrg - New Toy

My MIDI Valentine - The Fall Of Mesbla (2011)

Bandcamp
Mediafire

9.0

/New Weird Brazilia, Electronic pop, Free folk, Electro pop, Leftfield, Chamber pop, Experimental indie, Baroque pop, Tracker music, 8bit, Primitive pop, Psychedelic/

Comment: if you direct the spot upwards upon the tags you can figure out the patchwork-alike characteristic of the album. I thought about what I had listened to and realized out that this Brazilian duo reminds somehow of Super Furry Animals. In the first place, both bands` methodology, their intimate approach does have a bunch of parallels evoked in my consciousness. More detailly, indie rock meets psychedelic, folk-drenched songs which are frequently undermined with different sort of electronica, ranging from lush, brass-induced orchestrations to sawtooth-shaped paces in the style of bitpop/chiptune/8bit or more general yet gritty electronic experimentation. No doubt, My MIDI Valentine`s vision used to be more primitive and challenging because of exploiting by far more elements for their own sake. Furthermore, there`s no many bands worldwide who could joint together Belle & Sebastian and Dopplereffekt, R Stevie Moore and ashbrg, Wild Honey and Beta Band.