Fourteen Twentysix Lighttown Closure (Mine, All Mine!/Wise Owl/Bandcamp)

Expanded from the Songs From To Forget EP, being released 2 years ago, Chris van der Linden`s conception has acquired more grandeur deliveries. Indeed, Fourteen Twentysix is a bombastic giant which size is really intanglible and unfound over the first listenings, which, in fact, might be a sign of good music. The diversity of guitar patterns wrapped up by dark-sided electronic timbres and rhythms, and cello orchestrations at times, will be culminating in the last track Lashes, having progressed into the epic chaos of the rolling and swirling stringent instruments. Some natural sounds here and there around and in early days recorded live drums somewhere in the shed by the countryside do add organic and vitalic feeling to the release. By Linden`s velvety timbre with it comes quite close to the music of such crafty pop luminaries like David Sylvian and Mark Hollis, which comparison, though, is the plaudit by all odds. Lighttown Closure is a fine example of the bombastic yet deep issue, without being leaned on by empty gestures.

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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

[Artists] Moya

Moya
Myspace
Lastfm

edPorth Saying vamos and thinking let's go (Inglorious Ocean)

All experimental rock music roads lead to Rome, paraphrasing that byword of which adequately describes the recent case. Indeed, Patrizio Piastra aka edPorth has a lot to offer on his debut album Saying vamos and thinking let's go. In which way could the borders of his sound be dumbed down? If you have listened to Seefeel`s dystopic sound cocoons, you have got the ideas to be already along the half-way of truth (or even a little bit more). Even better results it is possible to reach if to arrive back in time to mùm`s first two albums, though, the man from Rome is intended to have, as it seems to me, a little broader aesthetical ambitions on his pavement. For instance, the title song, which is fringed by delicious harmonic layers in the vein of IDM/indietronica/post-rock/ambient glitch. In the place of Meeting at the utility he is ready to continue on the runways of the British legends - a certain kind of somber tonality will acquire abstract shapes over time, in turn, a lot darker shades swivel around them, though, it is mainly relies on inside higher chords while synth paces will unbashedly getting close to the past of new wave/new romantic bands. Indeed, this is carried out by electronic music of 101 percent yet subjected to the methodology of post-rock music. Though, however, there are a couple of exceptions (with guitars). Eighteen degrees below the horizon is built up on guitars, booming bass lines and massive violins, and Kreuzberg and the sun does crossover glitch beats and guitar chord transitions - the latest ones are just fabulous, working out as a kind of mood trigger let out. Similarly, angelic voices has an important role to play, which more clearly will be cropped out at Kadievka. Your sand does usher in as a kind of crossover of nu-jazz and Balkan rhythms, which getting develop and landing in the networks of glitch and vague scratch effects . Despite of variability all around seems to be congealing. Terminating Long Exposure offers wide-sounding orchestrations, being also one of the highlights on Saying vamos and thinking let's go.

Epic, soothing, masterful, dreamy, timeless are being the first adjectives come up to mind. However, besides our main figure, mùm and Seefeel I recommend listen to Echelon Effect, Monokle, orange crush, and Patrizio Piastra`s compatriots port-royal and The Japanese Gum, and also the brothers-sisters of him on the Inglorious Ocean label as well.

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9.6

Garden On A Trampoline Life Of The Mind (CLLCT/Grey Noise Media)

One of the passants regarding an important, mainly USA-based environment Collective Family (CLLCT), James Eric decided last year to abandon the role of a singer-songwriter diminishing the chorus-based concept instead of introducing himself to more innovative-oriented music. In the first place, as a sign, he compiled the best of album We Got This Far - Best Of Eric James and chose out a quake-referencing name. The new self-named album of G.O.A.T was sharply set up against his previous, mainly smoothly driving indie pop. Such a behavior does not seem peculiar in similar situations because of huge attempts by the artist to make up a clear distinction between the two projects, between the past and the future. The 31-year-old Chicago musician did play with diverse genres. Dominated by the moulds within electronic pop and downtempo, which were a little variated by post-rock and ambient sequences. Some infiltrations of sound collage techniques shined through, though, as well. His soundscape was tumultuous, sometimes swinging mood music, a pleasant kind of muzak. Some sporadic DIY-overthrows only built up DIY-near natural attractiveness.

In the beginning of this year Eric released with Patrick Ripoll the joint release I Split On Your Grave (CLLCT) and issued the set of his B-side songs named Found Sounds: B-Sides 2009. Both of albums revealed the American in the wake of his excellence. The first was demonstrated by melancholic grip on barely perceivable post-rock tunes and the second was acoustic indie pop moving more close to the middle of more pop structures and his previous designation too (by the way, the guitars got back their previous dominant positions).

However, Life Of The Mind is back in the wake of his first album tracks. However, the recent one has a more circumscribed shape, all of those distinct structures have obviously less concern on creation of an electronically bleary milieu which gathering around the listener. Though, it abounds even in more diverse directions. Piano accords and glockenspiel will lead up into the following 10 tracks, and 42 minutes as well. Mannerism is hemmed by an epic rock concept. Next Dreams Are Real Good (you can rest now) is a mixture of spoken word, sound effects, stomping bass sounds, ambient, post-rock, and electronic pop/downtempo at that too. A kind of clumsiness and enchanting mist move hand in hand, underbearing the overall impression. Help is a modern classic number through its grandeur poses. I Can`t Sleep So I Dream Of You will continue in similar vein of the previous tracks which is accompanied by dreamy trumpet flows (in the embodiment of Tim Bales`s live recordings) in accordance with Miles Davis`s spirit though not for any long interval - it will be ended by a fine electronic introspective. By the way, the track contains of a noise sample by Isis. Not Young, But Restless is one of the highlights - the sounds which coming from remote distances, while creating powerful and convincing synthetic sound walls - which are conducted by a dateless motive - will make up your day. It is followed by an solitary acoustic track (Now I Sleep Tonight). Interplay between a guitar and a piano. The one and a subsequent one as being silent interludes do make little impact in the background of this concept which will set up the consciousness of the listeners getting wait for sheer experiences more and more. The Next Day Looks Brighter Than The Last is a beautiful melodic instrumental rock. The Night Is Awake will also be on similar path, although having a greater emphasis set up on a modern classic arrangement. In the ending track (NB! The tracks within the zip-folder at Mediafire do have different order of succession) The Reverse the synths, a bouncing drum rhythm and a spoken word line will be lifted up to the forefront conceptually nearing very close to the aesthetics of Holy Fuck, Fuck Buttons, Errors, The Octopus Project, and other similar artists as well. Undeniably one of the albums of the year.

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9.4

[Old but important] Vlor sacred places in the city (Silber)

Brian John Mitchell and Russell Halász introduced their musical activity in 1992 while covering Bauhaus and The Cure songs on acoustic guitars, after which soon followed their first hiatus. Brian John Mitchell started with his new project Remora which more exactly did mean concentrating on guitar drone experiments, which obviously influenced Vlor`s subsequent aspirations in experimental vein.

Lavished EP was released in 1997 and luxate EP a year later (today the EP`s are offered as a joint album). Because they had no money at first to afford yourselves delay and reverb generating devices they were strained to use natural ambiences. For instance, a racquetball court. In short, it was solid shoegaze music with a fringe of loud reverberation reminding of some My Bloody Valentine`s most atmospheric and epic moments ( (When You Wake) You're Still in a Dream; No More Sorry; Moon Song) and experimental moments (Touched) as well; on the other hand it drives and impresses on a darker sequence and some sparsenss in rhythm or even lack of it aside as well, approaching in that way to the soundscape of another legend Lycia (by the way, Lycia`s Mike VanPortfleet is part of Vlor nowadays).

While having been the last joint record session sacred places in the city is a symbolic release first of all. Thereafter the closest friends have each other felt out (the situation which is comparable to Spaceman 3, isn`t?). Vis-à-vis with their previous publications the reverb effects have been more reduced for it. Guitar arpeggios have distinctly been roughed out.

Although the release is minimal by instrumentals and soundscape on there it is full of mood music as yet. There is no difference after all, in which way this 33-minute long set should be characterized anyway - shoegaze, post-rock, darkwave. On the other hand - while it is still far away from any of pop centres by its minimalist approach, it can be considered as one as being quite close to academic guitar approach, this album could have had a broader audience. Great music, great muscians.

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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

[Old but important] An Elephant Never Forgets An Elephant Never Forgets (Upitup)

Indeed, the elephants never forget and can probably remember better as many people do. It is also believable that so much shit gathered together inside our brains which would be better forget or think off isn`t actually the matter of the elephants. On the other side, it is quite surprising to suggest that so few artists are paid `tribute` to the largest terrestial animal by integrating their name into groups` ones. Moreover, the elephant have been symbolized strength and durability.
Indeed, nowadays are being more popular all kind of `bears`, and `cats` - though, I ought to admit, over the times - as well. For real, over the previous decade In the USA existed the Elephant 6 movement have subsequently added the proper and symbolic intention to the `elephant` name in music. No doubt, bands such as Neutral Milk Hotel and Of Montreal have strongly influenced the (USA) altenative music scene.

An Elephant Never Forget is also coming from the same continent – from Montrèal, Canada. Dave Landry and Jim Angelillo, who are only known by this act, came in for to leave thereafter. Though, they were also represented by one song on the compilation of Upitup Records, which released their debut album thereafter. This publication could be shown as a peculiar case because of their in that music entered inside the borders of Upitup's cutting edge electronic music desert. However, the duo demonstrated tumultuous spirit and energy of the music from their home city combined with aesthetics similar to Upitup`s artists using huge cluster of influences for. Given that the jacks within the local indie and post-rocks scene are closely related to each other and take into an account a clue that (Le) Fly Pan Am changed quite dramatically the direction on their last album vis a vis their previous outputs it gives us a theoretical basis to suppose that An Elephant Never Forget has maybe even strongly influenced (Le) Fly Pan Am`s album N` Ecoutez Pas (2004, Constellation) - one of the greatest albums from the last decade.

All those diverse elements are nicely represented on the album - musique concrete elements (street sounds, water murmur), ecstatic outbursts (tracks Expl; Analogie – does it reminiscent of Arcade Fire`s ecstatic hystery thereabout 3-4 years later, isn`t?) It will be given a break by hypnotic rock conception (Nippon), electro-acoustic fulminations, slowly expanding minimalistic ambient rock (Essence). Spoken word. Digital noise does find his home within the borders of high-pitched guitar hums. Also laptop folk - as the later brand of Montrèal scene - excellent shimmerings yield great monumentums here (I recommend listen to another duo Simon Trottier-Nicolas Bernier too). The album will be finished off by their label mate Isocore `s masterful psych-electronic remix Poor Corporation.

An Elephant Never Forget is full of sounds which are worth to give a listen, worth to be discovered now and sometime later again. One of the benchmarks of experimental rock music.

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