Cosmos Laguna - Karma Cleaner (2011)

Trash Can Dance

9.1

/Industrial electro, EBM, Industrial trance, Synth industrial, Alternative, Dark synth/

Comment: Cosmos Laguna is a brooding industrial electro act with apparent dodges by the side of trance and dark wave/synth music. Of course, the reference of mine must not be misunderstood. The album has nothing to do with the kind of cheesy trance acrobatics, though, some tracks show up weird dance-appealed vibes. Otherwise massively piercing beats and drilling electro forays are surrounded by wraith-alike veil and tight murky vapour. Behind this idiosyncratic project is Alari Keskla, a 33-year-old producer from Estonia. The album is released on the Estonian underground (CD-R) label Trash Can Dance.

elektrolandmusik - automat (2010)

Bandcamp
Elektrolandmusik
Archive.org
Lastfm

9.0

/Electro-acoustic, Experimental electronica, Acousmatics, Avant-garde, Toytronica/

Comment: elektrolandmusik provides a handful of compositions, made up of natural, repetitive xylophone-alike cuts and sequences wrapped up in loose electro-acoustic environments. Indeed, at times it rings like an explorative act on toytronic music based on the sounds of a modular synthesizer. The musician`s experiments resemble of the Finnish project Thuoom`s first album.

Dadala - Dreams (2006)

Dadala
Lastfm

8.9

/Improvised music, Noise, Experimentalism, Avant-garde, Weird pop, Post-industrial, No Wave/

Comment: RDunlop is an avant-garde musician who has been active since the mid of 80`s exploring the boundaries and realms of experimental music. On Dreams he takes on a wide array of genres and sounds, veering out both natural and synthetic, running across both sparse and overloaded ambiences. However, I am wondering how he is able to change those patterns permanently and seamlessly, being sometimes very relaxing through mellow jazz/downbeat standards and, on the other side, get involved in noiseful, soil-engorging mayhems. Or how he used to mix up pitchbent layers with found sounds or being obviously subjected to improvisatory algorithms. In between those extremities you can be a witness to the No Wave-alike explorations (reminding of Tuxedomoon, for instance) and malignant ambient.

The Vévé Seashore - A Cup of Coffee for Your Fears

The Brand New Heavies - Dunk Your Trunk (2011)

Pedigree Cuts
TBNH

9.0

/Afrobeat, Nu jazz, Acid jazz, Electronic pop, Psychedelic, P-funk/

Comment: TBNH is an ensemble which needs not be introduced actually. The legends of acid jazz/nu jazz, and house for almost three decades have came back with an album made up of the samples of library music. However, in the first place, these 14 tracks do have a catchy impetus throughout all the course involving the rhythms of jazz, P-funk, Afrobeat/funk. Indeed, mostly it provides dance-appealed paces, sometimes soothing moments as well.

Holiday Friends Christmas Treasury Volume III (2011)

Holiday

9.3

/Alternative rock, Indie rock, Conceptual/

Comment: let`s continue with the Christmas theme (the previous week The Gifted Children`s Christmas album was reviewed at RMH). There are 8 enthralling indie ditties by artists related to Holiday Records, one of the best indie labels all around the world. Acorn Boys, Greater Varsa, Palms On Fire, Saints & Children, Historical Society, The Arctic Flow, Church Library, and Francis of Nome are proudly represented there.

Kid A - In A Dream House EP (2010)

Kid A
Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.4

/Poptronica, Eelectronic pop, Alternative pop, Leftfield, Electro-rock/

Comment: Anni T is a musician from Virginia who has collaborated with such luminaries as Daedelus, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, and Agoria, for instance. Indeed, by listening to this 4-track issue I shall have to admit her very talented musical side which is made up of arty, orchestrated poptronica, tumultuous electronic pop and intense, piercing electro-indie. More profoundly, gloomy beats are tightly intertwined with mellow singing manner of her. And of course, you can sense lots of magic permanently oozing out of the slots of song structures. All in all, you can be sure that the EP is getting grow with each listening time.

Motorama - Seagulls

Edgeist - Landscapes (2011)

Enough
Lastfm

9.5

/Power electronics, Ambient noise, Rhythmic noise, Experimental, Ritual noise, Avant-garde, Industrial techno/

Comment: Edgeist is an industrial/noise solo project started off in 2005 in Lyon, France. He has issued a shitloads of releases (mainly EPs) under various labels (Clinical Archives; Amduscias Records; Picomedia) where you can perceive compelling rhythmic noise, piercing power electronica, and oddly undulating ambient noise above it. More concretely, by listening to Edgeist`s brand new one, indeed, it chimes very danceable on its own. Like a sort of techno music thought for proponents of black metal or something like that. This 5-piece publication is highly charming and inspiring indeed. As if the shamans were traded their drums to electronic devices in order to make the music of their own in the 21th century.

Darkhorse - Mannequin (2009)

Bandcamp

9.2

/Fusion, Dark folk, Neofolk, Art rock, Improvised music, Dub rock, Psychedelic rock, Post-rock, Alternative rock/

Comment: it is an intriguing and compelling album by Darkhorse, a musician out of Boston, Massachussets, USA. He uses (supposedly) a huge melting pot to to put into it murky dark folk/neofolk-tinged guitar strums, fusion/jazz guitar-based riffs and improvised streaming, some post-rock-alike glimpses, and slight psychedelic revs tightly surrounding all of that compound. The ending notch Paradigm Shifts functions as a progression on thrilling trip-hop beats. However, the favorite of mine is an enthralling blending of dub-inflected bass handling and psychedelia-soaked fusion guitars at Persephone reminding a little of Vanishing Point (1997, Creation) by Primal Scream. If you are searching for kindred souls you can draw parallels upon such artists as Darkwood, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Moses Luster, and Jeff Beck.