They Stay Dead - Cursed (2011)

Death To False Hope
Bandcamp

8.0

/Hardcore punk, Pop punk, Hair rock/

Comment: by watching the coverprint and considering the title of this 3-piece issue it may be seem a little bit disorientating because the topics behind it are not so atrocious, though. The tracks used to run on melodic intentions which in turn are shaped by intense rhythmic sections and pop punk guitar hooks and sleazy vocal manner. Furthermore, the singing in chorus and some bombastic guitar riffs remind of the 80`s ridiculous gigs embodied by so-called hair rock/metal/pop metal scene (Europe, Poison, Charizma). In a nutshell - not bad at all because lots of energy used to ooze out of the slots of the issue.

Echthros - lyov (2011)

Assonance
Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.0

/Dark ambient, Ambient, Neoclassical, Sludge metal, Ethereal, Spoken word, Avant-metal, Crossover, Post-metal/

Comment: this issue originates by Echthros (Bartosz Frąckowiak) from Poland who provides 6 long-running progressions (over 54 minutes in all) where orthodox church hymns are crossed with more or less ominous spoken word/and moaning snippets and ethereal floatation/or settling on more abrasive, noiseful/sludge/doom guitar blow-ups. It is solemn and a little ghastly simulatenously, i.e masterfully accentuated and channelized. Altogether, it is the intriguing appearance from its very start to the ending point.

[Teaser of the day] William Wilson - Blank

Archive.org

Bankie Phones - Dragon Scarf (2009)

Future:Komp

9.3

/Robo pop, Industrial techno, Experimental techno, Electroclash, Electronic pop, Electro, Noise/

Comment: Dragon Scarf comprises 9 tracks which used to convey compelling electro/and techno propulsions and visions. More concretely, it chirps like a machine-alike outlook for future days taken out from the middle of a dance floor filled in with fashioned robots and humanoids. More concretely, it veers away from industrial-hued bits, dystopic/paranoid gleaming all of that is backed up with fall-to-pieces or motorik-induced rhythm sequences, though, on the other side, the last track takes on more brassy bounces. Now and then noiseful, intoxicated electro chunks will be surfacing to variegate the ground. Yet, the second track is a great exception sounding truly pop/electro rock/electroclash-appealed in a good sense of this word. Altogether, the soundscape seems to be rigid and lush simultaneously, however, hinting at the quality of the issue. I guess Aldous Huxley would have loved it. Bankie Phones originates from Minneapolis, USA.

2muchachos - Lost In The Mist

2muchachos - lost in the mist from 2muchachos on Vimeo.

Keijo - WHNZ:16:MYTIME (2010)

Bandcamp
Free Music Archive

Lastfm

9.3

/Psych-folk, New Weird Finland, Improvised music, New Weird Europe, Forest folk, Free folk, Weird folk, Avant-folk, Experimental folk/

Comment: the Jyväskylä-based musician Keijo (Virtanen) is a godfather for nowadays Finnish experimental folk musicians, also known as the representatives of so-called Finnish forest folk (the equivalent for Finnish psych folk/New Weird Finland). By his contribution to the Finnish and other countries underground scenes Virtanen can be compared to the likes of Erkki Kurenniemi, and Pekka Airaksinen. However, there are represented a handful of long-running tracks (6 notches spreaded out over 37 minutes) which are profound ones due to their running on flickering incantations and exorcized, shamanic appearances-improvisations. In a word, classic.

Former Babies - The Blackout Album (2011)

Bleeding Gold

8.7

/Acoustic punk, Garage rock, Grrl riot, DIY/

Comment: Former Babies (Moll Ball, and Shawna England) is a duo from the West Coast conveying a set of short-running tracks comprising the twangs of acoustic guitars and sonorous singing all of that is wrapped up by a rebellious feeling. In fact, their template and premiss are quite intriguing because their sound is obviously inspired of punk music, self-conscious grrl riot bands and DIY aesthetics. Though they are not, they could freely be a part of CLLCT, a Bloomington, Indiana-based platform.