Cagey House Major Monk (Black Square)

Avant-garde music veteran Dave Keifer aka Cagey House is back with an having-no-idea-which-album-it-could-be-in-queue release. Because of the high quality of his albums and the uncompromising intention for perfection, Cagey House`s follow-ups are very anticipated. Keifer started off producing music on the FruityLoops-based manipulations but later has found its fondness in sampling processing. In fact, he has issued 2 albums in the near future - Major Monk, and The Stupid Grin (under Sayonara).

In fact, the first three tracks - the seven ones in total - on Major Monk were completed in the beginning of 2009 already. The American musician had used lots of vocal samples to bring forth a suggestive narrative (he has even designed a dialogue relied upon a couple). The first-off Preliminary Major Champion Monk embarks on entering into an appalling radiophonic territory. On the other hand, regarding Keifer `s doings in last years the opening does not make an extraordinary feeling, though. (For instance, check it out for his masterpiece set Lark). As a king of the sampledelic(plunderphonics/cut and paste/sound collage music, he is still used to dive into the abyss of linear composing schemes where one sample is deliberately followed by another, having dosed an witty collation of chords to get deeply into a listener's inner world. On the other side, however, every key/key change on it regarding somehow emotions is charged up in different shape and amount thereby I can imagine it might even be a kind of frightening music for some listeners. By speaking in a more concrete way the soundscape is wrapped in by a poignant environment, dusty antiquity, much of it played out on Keifer`s big hype upon theremin (at least keen to its samples, indeed). The third and fourth track do deviate from the main concept of an unexpected but welcome direction so far. It comes out as if the like of Laetitia Sadier (McCarthy; Stereolab; Monade) is attended therein for to feature with Moog-relied backdrops thereby conveying a mild psychedelic-drenched dimensionality over to the soundscape. The next number Basement returns to the initial situation via "trampling and scraping things" (by Keifer`s own words). All you can be witnessing subsequently here is a mixed-up array of clicks and bleeps, otherwordly effusing sonic patterns of programmed toys, sole trombone blasts, and psychedelic shades as well. To get finished it off, you shall have to look at the excellent coverprint of Major Monk, purposefully amplifying the sonorous impression of it - and vice versa. In fact, it is just the pleasure to perceive it as a whole.

Listen to it here

9.5

[Artists] Slutever

Slutever
Slutever
Myspace
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Fur Devastate The Details (Mine All Mine)

The US band Fur is back with its sophomore release, and the 6-track offspring does sound rousing and refreshing. Do you guess the quartet is coming from? Of course, from Detroit, from the motor city. And their music is quite comparable with the acceleration and chase of vehicles, and mesmerizing gazing of the go-by of route bollards and grey-green-esque mixed panoramas. Their majestic rock pose is digged deeply into an eloquent incarnation of shoegaze, grunge, post-punk, gothic and alternative rock shades. Overrolling guitar hooks and overdrives do pinball around epic and abrasive area, creating vital pop conceptions, being compiled of the shoegaze-influenced Smashing Pumpkins from the 90`s, the Interpol`s murky pop rock sheen, Joy Division-esque ennui screen, the Lycia-alike overhead hovering sombre shapes, and of course Break Me, My Love having a kind of pattern as if Kurt Cobain has made his feature for the Devastate The Details. However, my very fondness is moulded into title track, with the natural-born-breakbeat-paid-for rhythm section, penetrating riffs, and atmospheric synths, being wrapped in by a lot of key changes; and Houston played out via the meeting of a bittersweet verse-chorus and shape-changing guitar appearances. The rock music in its honesty.

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9.1

[Artists] Inverness

Inverness
Jamendo
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Music For Your Plants S/T (MFYP)

Though I come from Estonia I have been quite critical about the most of phenomenons regarding somehow the Estonian indie music and its musical appearances over the previous and last decade. The reason is simple because my native country does have the community of musical critics/activists and musicians very densely related to each other, however, some of them through the job, the other through dense friendship connections. This is why I am not used to believe in maximum-rated overviews in local newspapers after I had listened to some of the albums being classified as really second-rate ones in principle. Once again, I really hope I am not being misunderstood - it is not a complaint it is just admission about the inevitable shortcoming of the small communities.

The debut album by the Tallinn-based trio Music For Your Plants is one of the best issues growing out from the local scene in recent years. Their 8-track release reflects upon past, present and future, where technical know-how is finely arranged with shitloads of ideas and a decent spiritual touch, where all needful is kindly presented and played up into the balance. First off, their affinity toward retrodelic fusion and progressive rock is showed up via impressive light-hearted guitar noodlings and synthesized psychedelic electronics-based vortexes altogether reminiscent of the doings of Kaseke, Radar, and In Spe, the Estonian jazz rock and progressive rock legends by the 80`s, respectively. (Though I am aware of the facts being compared to the likes of Tortoise, Tame Impala and other experimental rock luminaries already). On the other side, though through a narrow slot, you can be a witness about the dodges toward enchanting chillwave moulds (Dr. Mudawi), or the tropicalia/surf pop-mixed-up excellence of Enchanted Sister. Undoubtedly Music For Your Plants is a record which has acquired the potential to be written into progressive rock annuals sometime. In fact, I mean it very seriously.

Listen to it here

9.5

[Artists] Music For Your Plants

Music For Your Plants
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The Dog Pòstumo (Transienda)

The 9-track album of the Spanish band The Dog does start out with an ancient advertisement clip against the marijuana smoking, which soon delves into scuffed guitar riffs and electronic mix-based turmoil. As a whole one it seems in its very beginning to pretend for a kind of soundscape searching for its source between silence-infused images and furious yet controlled guitar ascents. A bit later it is used to get evolved into melancholy-pitched post-rock reflexions accompanied with subtle classical/baroque/chamber music elements, and soon, on the other side irreversibly setting itself up for dream folk-esque status unwinded via fingerpicked guitars, airy vocal arrangements and its whispering modifications, violins, glockenspiel thrums and harmonica-alike ingoings. Sometimes it sounds quite close to A Silver Mt Zion (especially No sè què cenar), at the another time it is used to sound like a sort of wistful Penguin Cafe Orchestra. In a nutshell, I shall have to admit that Pòstumo is full of outstanding examples which can be classified as "post-folk", as it was precisely described by Rajsank from the Yamanotedreams blog, indeed.

Listen to it here

9.2