Annorkoth - Voids EP (2011)

Annorkoth
Lastfm

8.8

/Glam rock, Dark pop, Dark wave, Alternative, Lo-fi, DIY, Neoclassical/

Comment: it is said that Annorkoth is an atmospheric depressive black metal band from Podolsk, Russia. But wait for a moment! This EP of 24 minutes spreading out over 7 tracks chimes at least like a light-weighted or steam-rolled version of brutal metal. Indeed, it is murky, at times embellished with martial-induced paces and sometimes offering up slightly bleak visions (as similar as the coverprint of it used to be) but on the other side it is conducted by the melancholic drops of piano chords, fast tempo progressions and breezy structural dodges. Altogether, it seems more restraint glam than black or more dark wave than black metal. And it is absolutely the sort of instrumental music. Visit Annorkoth`s self-titled website/blogspot where are uploaded shitloads of albums, EPs, splits/collaborations.

The Hirundu - Qeserat Burj Ohm

Cold Womb Descent - Cold Womb Descent (2011)

Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.5

/Dark ambient, Dystopbient, Noir wave, Minimal, Ambient, Avant-garde/

Comment: Cold Womb Descent is a collaborative act between the Polish sound creator Risen (Mealann; Risen v0id; Distorted Perception; Dead Girl Radiation), and Tabique (Vozrozhdeniya), a producer from Mexico. This is their 8-track debut album which functions as a wide panoramic vision of dystopic ambient, ghastly noir, and on the other side more hopeful vistas regarding the upcoming times. Indeed, the album can be considered as an endless journey in the Outer Space, however, being truly suggestive and profound in its glacial glow-alike drifts and movements toward the giant red stars. Colony of the Remnants chimes like a sort of futuristic symphony music. For the melomans and possible musicians, however, the album conveys lots of viable modalities regarding the kind of sphere-drenched/ambient music in the first place. Very strong manifesto indeed.

Zuhurbelea - Zeru ta Lurretako Mirakulugarri Ahoak, NO alcohol, alkolgabeko musika (2011)

Lastfm

8.9

/Avant-industrial, Post-punk, Cold wave, Avant-garde, Post-punk/

Comment: Zuhurbelea (wise crow, in Basque) is a project by Bertrand Escaffre, a French-based musician. The title of the album means approximately "through the miraculous voice of sky and earth", which is a cue to the fact that this 3-track EP is a modified example (and mainly the second version) of the Zeru ta Lur-alike style (Escaffre`s another project) - in a simplier and fluider way. By using a more specific language, however, this instrumental EP is filled in with cold-hearted paces and (and less cold) throbs, industrial-soaked hum and reverberations. By the author it is a try to continue Joy Division`s ultimate idea. In fact, he will not be wrong with this assumption, yet, on the other side, by its aesthetical frame it may share more traits with the early Cabaret Voltaire, Nurse With Wound, Throbbing Gristle and other old school industrial acts.

Ermine Coat - Ermine Coat (2011)

Mediafire

9.4

/Anti-folk, Singer-songwriter, Noise rock, DIY, Experimental rock, Lo-fi, Garage rock, Rockabilly/

Comment: Ermine Coat is a Perth, Australia-based project (it is self-described as bedroom moron pop band). If you are keen on Wavves, Phil Reavis, Adrian Aardvark, Five Star Debauchery and other such kind of artists this 16-track is exactly thought for you. Garage-tinged rough folk and rockabilly is crossbreeded with acute psychedelia and now and then it is intertwined with witty electronic ruffles and face-hitting noise forays. However, the more I listen to it the better it gets. Probably the reason is hidden in a fact that harmonies and melodies are optimally balanced with vivid experiments. At the first glance it is simple but very impressive. Indeed, "moron" should be defined as frenetically good in this context.

Asian Women On The Telephone - Freedom as mama told me (2011)

Bandcamp
FMA

9.3

/Psych-rock, Krautrock, Experimental rock, Improvised music, Avant-rock, Experimentalism, Psychedelia, Avant-garde, Ritual music, Space rock/

Comment: at the first glance it might be the biggest failure related to this album is its long duration and diverse content. There are represented 12 tracks, some of them shutting down at the length of 17 minutes. Fortunately the album is lopsided in a way to get enough benefited from it. The notches are improvised, providing krautrock-esque progressions, either being more keen on kraut-funk grooves so characteristical to CAN since Soon Over Babaluma (1974), or more Faust-esque metronomic psych-feedback-based wall rock. On the other side, it does not deny a part of improvised free jazz-laden noise music, firstly reminiscent of Borbetomagus, the forefathers of this genre. The first track (the self-titled one) embarks on with the repetition of shamanic verses and drum parts. If to have a word about the kindred souls of AWOTT you can draw parallels upon artists such as Magical Unicellular Music, Acid Mothers Temple, Ester Poland, Joxfield ProjeX, Kospel Zeithorn. AWOTT (the line-up consists of Brown Polizei, Good Enough Freundin, Oriental Yid, Lewd Primat, Mutter Land) launched in Moscow in 2007 and known due to their frantic stage shows and no using overdubbing and mixing in the recording process. Great band by any means!

Cold Womb Descent - Plutonium Mine Shipyard Launch