Minimalism of this sort makes for a difficult proposition on the part of the composer. It takes an extremely talented artist to shape quiet sound into something that compels the listener to pay attention despite its inherent subtlety.
Hotter than July. This week's episode has plenty of fresh new music by Marie Davidson, Kim Gordon, Mabe Fratti, Guided By Voices, Holy Tongue meets Shackleton, Softcult, Terence Fixmer, Alan Licht, pigbaby, and Eiko Ishibashi, plus some vault goodies from Bombay S Jayashri and Pete Namlook & Richie Hawtin. Solstice moon in West Midlands, UK photo by James. Get involved: subscribe, review, rate, share with your friends, send images!
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Released in 1973, this is the first CD version of this psychedelic pop album. Much of the inventive melodies, delicate harmonies, and breezy guitars are rooted in the '60s Western tradition but contain enough twists on the genre to give the tunes a subtly unique flavor. While not terribly groundbreaking, this album does hold the distinction of being the first available psychedelic album from Indonesia.
The debut album from the latest Bad Seeds off-shoot is a breath of fresh air compared to the recent stodgy and MOR output of Nick Cave. What the Bad Seeds did years ago with the blues, Grinderman have done with garage rock. Eleven songs of no bullshit and no fucking about with song structures or melodies have resulted in an exciting album. To paraphrase Cave, Grinderman is old farts making music for old farts (and Martyn P. Casey's "I love Status Quo" haircut certainly backs up this statement). Well if this is growing old, then I cannot wait for my bus pass to arrive!
Kevin Barnes becomes a glam-rock icon named Georgie Fruit on this record, or so he claims. Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? has been described by Barnes as a conceptual project for just this reason, but no matter how many cultural references he might make in his lyrics I don't keep coming back for them, nor do I find them particularly appealing. Of Montreal's latest record is enjoyable because it's catchy, not because there's anything special about Barnes' brand of peculiarity.
This compilation of Harvey's various works for film mostly covers his work for obscure German and Australian indie films (most of which I have never heard of let alone seen). Harvey has an exceptional amount of skill that is hidden much of the time, even on his own solo albums. Here he explores palettes and tones of a much more subtle manner compared to his day jobs. The emphasis is, of course, on mood and tension. Not all of the compositions are brilliant but most of them are prime examples of Harvey firing on all cylinders.
This 2CD and 2DVD box set is much better than expected. Not being a fan of the last Bad Seeds album made me think twice about buying this but despite focusing heavily on songs from The Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus double album, this is a nice addition to the Bad Seeds back catalog. It is by no means the best of Cave's live albums or DVDs but it is still well worth investigating.
With their fourth full length, Dälek leaves the noise and skree of Absence behind them and offer up instead a more contemplative effort. This album demonstrates that you don't need to clobber people over the head with sonic violence to get the point across.
Nathan Michaels' music could be nothing short of massive. Aphotic Leech is no happy experience, but it is a commanding piece of music with no shortage of powerful moments.
We all know Kieran Hebden is a big jazz fan, nearly all of the samples used in Four Tet recordings originate from jazz records, but it's undeniable that he has continuously made his mark in the pop framework. This third collaborative release with drummer Steve Reid explores the more pop side of things with ten tunes that average between the three and six mintue mark, ripe with riffs, and just about ready to be turned into hit singles.
