Okinawa Lifestyle - Lazy Friend You Move So Fast EP (haaa00a00a0a/Bandcamp)

Having reviewed their previous release Naha I expressed strong hope of mine that the melomans all around the world would get a lot of issues from this crafty Tbilisian duo in the future again and again. Their sonic alchemistry is a good example of balancing between magical harmonies and edge-y strobo rhythms around.

However, a new EP does continue walking on in the steps of the previous album. All of those funky electro strokes and through the filters of club music roving electronic pop tunes are previously blended intensively with exhilarating chillwave/glo-fi aesthetics, for instance, being as close to The Neon Indians for instance, as they have never done it before. This music can seriously be described as contemporary indie dance, or even post-house sometimes.

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9.3

Foxes In Fiction Swung From The Branches (Orchid Tapes)

Warren Hildebrand, an youngster from Toronto has gradually beefed up his position in the powerful (post-rock/ experimental folk/experimental indie/ambient) music scene in the North America. His debut album Swung From The Branches - the talk of which will be coming about now - will be soon released under the label Moongadget which is better known by the artists of such as Hella, Casino Versus Japan, Benoit Pioulard, Praveen, Dykehouse (though, the last three names are related through some compilations). However, he bears the course, and the indie bible Pitchfork dedicated an relatively lengthy introduction to the forthcoming event.

Swung From The Branches was firstly published by the Canadian`s own tape label Orchid Tapes. What makes his sound special? Certainly one of the (technical) premises is a dense blending of analogue and digital technology. Indeed, the sounds are recorded onto tapes , on the other hand, the use of digital reverb machines gives it another dimension. Having integrated different sonic waves into an organic whole it can only hints at a musician`s cleverness. The album of 19 tracks can be divided into two parts. First section is introduced by hilarious ambient/atmospheric post-rock numbers, in which you can hear tape hisses in a positive way, sometimes even pastoral primitivism evoking from somethere. Above all, it reminds me of the Fort Collins scene`s doings, especially M. Pyres` ambient experiments in some albums. However, the middle tempo rhythms, spoken word/storytelling, but first and foremost giving to the soundscape faster move, and the new phase started. The musique concrete-embedded items are subtly added to open-felt electro-acoustic environments, there are also viewable some experiments with pitch-effects, and various volume intensities. New Panic Cure is the first indie number demonstrating instantly, why the great hopes are set upon him; Jimi Bleachball does recall My Bloody Valentine, in particular, through Hildebrand` s vocal manner and timbre, which is getting really close to Kevin Shields himself (compare it to Off Your Face, and Moon Song). The title song is opened window/door laptop folk, which contains a lot of tape manipulations, and psychedelic vowel textures. Though Shields was mentioned herein, the closest of Hildebrand`s contemporaries is obviously Bradford Cox. In the same context one of the highlights of the album is 15 Ativan (Song for Erika). Dynamic indietronica/poptronica simply pushes the serotonine to flow to higher levels. One of the masterpieces of the year!

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10.0

Okinawa Lifestyle Naha (haaa00a00a0a)

Georgia's duo Okinawa Lifestyle consisting of David Datunashvili and Gigi Jikia who is yet a little known to date, though undoubtedly one of the most shimmering pop acts nowadays originating from the borders of the former U.S.S.R. Their music can be classified as part of chillwave/glo-fi movement, being this way as an earmark in the running of the aforementioned style on popularity all around the world. In fact, the Tbilisians, however, pushed already off their debut Roswell Crash EP one year ago. Are they as one pair amongst the first pioneers of chillwave music actually? It might be right this way.

Speaking about the 12-track LP, it is built up on profuse chords exchanges and the evocation of the groove and velvet-alike harmonies. However, in accordance with duo`s previous release the new is more concerned about disgressions and mood swings. For example, the main harmony of the opening Rouge à Lèvres comes out from the middle of abrasive electro industrial chaos. Levan runs through the prism of beatific and glamorous sounds, enough to be regarded as one of the central pieces on it. Tbilisi Presents does offer a hybrid of the noir mood-ish Pulp (Seductive Barry, Weeds II, My Legendary Girlfriend), and Ariel Pink-ish tunes. Actually it is hard to imagine how the pop music could sound even the better way! But you should never say never. Little Place is a blend of funky electro, hip-hop, and rock riff hooks. Goblin Dance mixes sentimental atmospheric layers with a bit of "garbage" sound. Nightwalk and the Sunrise Club have entered into an area of electronic pop music influenced by club dance jitters,which, by the way, is reminiscent of some of the songs from the Estonian cult band Borax on the album Mikroraion (1999). Emotional Experience is used to be to find some balance in-between lounge music and deep house. Ninenda is just a fine track to be ended up with positive mood.

Indeed, it appears it`s very happy time we are living in being sorrounded by so much beautiful music. Hopefully we hear about this Georgian band soon once again.

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9.8

[Compilation] New Weird Australia, Volume Five (NWA005)

In a relatively short period of time the New Weird Australia compilations have already reached the fifth piece in a row, which probably does testify the fact that the Australian underground scene has enough power and vitality to subsequently set up the steps to permeate over the world.

Indeed, all around of it is ebulliently colourful. Speaking about any kind of so-called New Weird- movements, for instance about New Weird America or Finnish forest folk, you can find out the connection with folk music. In fact, to find out the link with folk music in Australian counterpart it is actually a bit harder task, though. For example, there is represented the music of Alex Yarbley aka Dot.AY, who have acquired enough notoriety in chiptune/tracker music circles in the last years. Another example and pleasant surprise is meet to Gail Priest, who is known by her confident sound art characteristics and methodology (in the recent case, the minimalist vocal drones are flavoured with spare electronics). However, the other projects are also far from (alt-) folk tunes - a primitive noise (Justice Yeldham, who is described by the Wire journalist Bruce Russell as one of the interesting artists after Iggy Pop to date), Ship Caught has a gothic blend of psych-punk and shoegaze to boom out, as if Joy Division had a very special wish to make acquiatence with the specifics of the Wall Of Sound; indie psychedelia (Crab Smasher), a sort of electronic primitivism (Ripple), a kind of Glass Bead Game with cut and paste formality (Kate Carr), a vanguardistic bunch of glitch-electronics, space rock, digital noise/ambient (Blake Freele, / / / ▲ ▲ ▲ \ \ \). Further, even in the recent context Mookoid`s structure seems to be innovative (Hex River Valley). My personal fancies are the Peace Out!`s psych-electro space noir mania (Running the Sand), so you can label it as `modern` without you could sound ridicolous somehow; and Burning Palms` noisy psych-rock with loudly ringing echo drums (Mockery). Third favorite of mine is The Atlas Room`s Iris , which is used to be similar to Burning Palms, though, having more emphasis on motorik sequences and rooting out the borders between different styles.

In short, Volume Five is a fabulous collection of ideas and sounds. If you want to get some excellent examples of contemporary avant-garde rock music, you should certainly listen to this compilation. Aboriginal spirits have got up to the machines to groove themselves out.

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[Artists]starstarstar/***/ringostar

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[Artists] Cldscp

Cldscp
Myspace
Lastfm

[Artists] Cagey House/Dave Keifer

Cagey House
Myspace

Clinker Open See EP (Opera Dog Productions)

Europe faces against immigration problems nowadays. Refugees from the Third World, mainly from Africa, are searching for new living places by different reasons. For the Europeans have not been left anything but to choose between the two sides - to be for it or against it. Having been in to express empathy or showing up their dislike. On the other hand, we must take into account the fact it has mainly been the side effect of the White World expansive foreign policy and the weight of colonial history alongside with all kind of related rewards - the ruination of economic situation, the mutilation of natural environment, severe local wars during the Cold War in purpose of encompassing a larger part or reshaping the spheres of interest. The basic needs of the native people have been suppressed by the secondary needs/wishes of the Western peoples. Indeed, the recent situation can be seen as if a karma wheel is inevitably getting upon us - the cause-effect relationship is still being relevant.

Peter Jordan & Co. have made their firm decision in favor of empathy. Open See EP is inspired by Jim Goldberg`s photo exhibition of the same name, which main purpose was to reflect the experiences and sentiments of asylum seekers. Clinker uses even the phrases of the refugees in their lyrics. In comparison with their previous oeuvres Londoners have increased part of the wind instruments and backing vocals, though, while diminishing the role of synthesizers and electronics. The 4-track issue is wrapped with heartsore undertones of indie soul/soft rock and epic chamber pop numbers while nothing lose about their angular songwriting. Clinker has always shined with such albums containing of grandeur numbers - One Hell to Another and Will This Never End (Ood Song) will for sure complete this list.

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9.2

[Artists] Adrian Aardvark

Adrian Aardvark
Adrian Aardvark
Myspace

Memoryhouse The Years EP (Arcade Sound)

Well, it is time to continue with zeitgeist music. With sounds which are really hot and are being distributed and promoted first of all on the blogosphere all around the world at the moment. It seems to me that mainstream media unfortunately are unwilling to act along with, touching them only with fingertip (Neon Indians). It is much important for them to review some Neil Young`s and REM`s live sessions or `hidden` tracks being played thereabout 25-30 years ago than give more credit to unknown musical groups. The melomans of the recent generation don`t really care about it. It would be even sufficient if they had enough time to listen to classical pop albums (Neil Young`s and R.E.M`s ones as well).

Chillwave, hypnagogic pop, glo-fi, futurecore pop. Indeed, good music does have many names. And there have been around many bands as well - The Bilinda Butchers, Wonder Wheel, Sore Eros, MILLIONYOUNG, Dizzy Jaguars!, Death And Vanilla etc. Memoryhouse is coming from Ontario, Canada, and consist of Evan Abeele and Denise Nouvion who took the name after the famous work (2001) of German modern classic/electronic musician Max Richter. Their doings with music do have a very pragmatic explanation - to escape the paralysis of winter. Some living practices may sometimes acquire peculiar and beautiful raciness as it demonstrates 4-track The Years EP. The associations emerging from the first of a pair listens are very similar in their pleasure to those which cropped out while listening in the first time Cocteau Twins and Slowdive. Indeed, these names are not coincidental. Memoryhouse does charm through the ethereal sentiment of the Scottish trio and switches on the links related to Halstead & Co`s guitar ambient bewitchery. It can even account for why such music gives rise to nostalgia. On the other side - you should not think about it as the like of retro - basically this music is targeted toward the future. Their main basis contains of the element with whom you are already being familiar but the soundscape is rebuilt in a new way. Not very differently, though. How could it even be possible, isn`t? There is no chance to transcend the past, for the synthesis anyway. In fact, this movement started with similar aesthetics played up by Atlas Sound and Azeda Booth a couple of years ago and added by its own side marginal elements on DIY at that.

However, the guitars are commissioned by synthesizers (and not vice versa). The Years EP sounds as if Asobi Seksu or the Moscow Olympics would lack string instruments pushing synthetic elements to forefront. However, a cheap synth only sometimes illustrates the pace of a rhythm being mostly carried out by intense harmonies and melodies, which in turn are confined by angelic vocal sequences. I saw somewhere an message their next EP will come out soon in the spring. In the light of the recent EP a new one it is really welcomed. Is it yet possible to rise upward and upward?

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9.6

Hangin Freud Sunken (Sinewave)

The São Paulo/London-based duo Hangin Freud started with their musical operations in the year 2005. In the same year was released the same named debut album which appealed at first sight with a blend of music noir, dark sounding shoegaze/darkwave, powerful indie, and slowcore as well. Scratchy guitars, gothic vocal mannerism, via obscure corridors of delay effects thronging sound, closely intimate spaceness. The music which was designed for people who are obsessed with thick curtains and red light beams. The next issue Continental didn`t add nothing to the concept of their debut one. On the contrary - the emotional aspect expressed through voice and instrument settings was pushed down sounding in a quite dry and passionless way.

However, first of all, Hangin Freud is a sapient duo who is able to learn from their own experiences. While still following a narrow conception of their sound (by its conceptual narrowness it is similar to Stereolab or Broadcast), they have designed their moulded parts and less audible details into much more formidable ones. On Sunken does Freud Hangin sound as their music was described somewhere on the Internet - claustrophobia, pigeons, suffocation, dry lips, nail bits, white walls. In comparison with Hangin Power herein are no such tracks based on intended sheer loudness anymore. Recent sound is full of crawling and dark blue-colored phantoms, which even flow sometimes. Paula Borges`s voice is a blend of burnt-out and resigned feelings and at times even more commissioned senses. Because of the restraint of the soundscape the part of vocal lines is more dominant on it. However, less than a half-hour ongoing Sunken is full of great numbers - Swamp was probably written in such a way seeing only the minimal song-writing composition as the ideal for it in the mind, thereafter to become itself as a template of minimalist dark pop sketch. A barely audible noisy hum in the background gives evidence of duo`s ability and sage to dally on human consciousness through sound manipulation, the title song (of short duration) introduces a journey full of enchanting fantasies. We Are Not hits with old piano sound generating strange dimensionality, which may seem plausible coming from the 1920`s-1930`s. Its hidden compulsive effects enforce the listeners repeat it over and over again. The ending song In The City is a mixture of atmospheric shoegaze and darkwave and would be a suitable yonder track for speculative film narrating the stories about ghost cities. Indeed, there is left enough room for imaginations - I am quite sure by reading simultaneously Edgar Allan Poe`s short stories (Berenice; Ligeia) aside it would give the listeners some metaphysical dimensions at that.

Sunken is a grandeur album which actually is getting better with each listen. No doubt, it is one of the musical peaks from the year 2010. The album is mandatory for every serious dark music supporter, hype-disdainful indie fan or uncompromising meloman.

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9.8

gillicuddy the yaouhl! mashup (Clinical Archives)

Andreas Rohden aka gillicuddy is of East Frisian-descent, now in Bochum residing a singer-songwriter. He has issued as the sum of 4 albums, all during one year and a half, on respected labels such as Resting Bell, Merzbau, and Clinical Archives to date. Rohden`s music can be characterized as influenced by North American roots-driven pop music and minimalist song composition. Through his restraint approach he is getting close to delta blues and the string music derived from the years of the 1920-30`s. By continuing to go onwards in time it all reminds me of John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Phil Reavis, Lou Barlow, and of contemporaries the likes of Ben Chasny, early Devendra Banhart, (Carlo), Barbagallo, James Blackshaw.

Rohden`s deliberately a bit rough even primitive songs do reflect the truthfulness of the eras of the past decades (especially the album music for moles). In fact, the similarities with John Fahey do have common point in the shortness of the tracks not often reaching a couple of minutes. On the other hand, Rohden `s music has always been a bit too cagey to label it simply as roots music in itself (for example, it is as the same as to consider Wilco or The Silver Jews could it to be). His cutting edge-ness does arise from the fountainhead of the recent time (by the way, he has himself compared his music as if with “living together with the ducks and squirrels”). It is not possible to forget he is yet living in the midst of one of the main European industry complexes. His music would seem as an escaping far away from today and an urban jungle around.

His sonic inventiveness is vividly and broadly demonstrated on his latest release the yaouhl! mashup. In accordance with the spirit of Clinical Archives it does sound in a modern way (no matter how anachronistically this sentence would even sound!), being far away from the sleekness of buttoned-up chart music. However, all those songs establish an excellent bunch. The gambit i know starts with beautiful sonorous overdrives and will be continued by almost 8-minute long adventurous (post-) grunge sound. Indeed, de mannetjesolifant gaat op reis naar de oostzee sounds like grunge music in a way it could ideally to be. The track is compiled of sequences and details which are obviously not very ordinary at all. For instance, one of those sound layers is drifted by tape (speed) manipulation effects, though, the full story will be ended by background hisses coming from the (Baltic) sea. Sh-da is a marvellous blending of avant-garde/indie/post-rock, which main attention are focused on tumultuous structure consisting of the symbiosis of usual instruments and digital audio. Instrumental # 2 does approach a concept of the previous albums, but, yes, ... just moving nearer. Sme. li. co. is likely to move up into underground folk of the 60`s. What does it mean “Sme.li.co”? Therein are explaining sentences:
/ too many people on the subway train to tell people smell like cock / Why do the people under the subway train smell like cock /. In this way? Definitely.

the yaouhl! mashup demonstrates an ingenious and skillful balance between sound experimentation and solid song-crafting. There is actually one thing I am concerning about. Why are all of those song titles and the project title itself as well initiated without capital initial letter? By my opinion one of the best albums of 2010.

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9.5