May 2013
10 posts
Yr 2 Wk 41 PDX's Choice: Pickwick-Can't Talk...
Hearya review:
“Listening to Pickwick reminds me of why I hate the music industry. Last year, we caught Pickwick’s set at Antone’s and Oz commented that lead singer Galen Disston’s voice was one of the best he’s heard in all our years at SXSW. Combined with a phenomenal band consisting of Michael Parker, Garrett Parker, Alex Westcoat,Kory Kruckenberg and Cassady Lillstrom that plays a...
Yr 2 Wk 41 Lily's Choice: Mikal Cronin MCII
P4K:
““Do I shout it out?/ Do I let it go?/ Do I even know what I’m waiting for?/ No, I want it now/ Do I need it, though?” Throughout MCII, Mikal Cronin gets in these ruts. His lyrics are delivered as someone who’s never fully sure of his next move and who’s completely unclear about his ambitions. He’s sure that he’s in love, but he keeps...
Yr 2 Wk 41 Ace's Choice: Dean Blunt-The Redeemer
NME: “It’s rare to hear an album that sounds like it’s not of this world. The twists and turns on Hype Williams producer Dean Blunt’s follow-up to 2011’s ‘The Narcissist II’ seem like they’re from anywhere but Earth, and evoke a strange sonic landscape. The Londoner combines neurotic voicemails and crashing waves (‘Walls Of Jericho’)...
Yr 2 Wk 40 MavenMaven's Choice: Wolf People-Fain
WELCOME MavenMaven!! (Excellent 1st Choice IMO, Yotal)
Maven: “A contemporary version of steeleye span, with great songwriting and without the kitsch that often is found in that genre.
Very satisfying.”
The Quietus:
“Upon realising that Wolf People’s riff-heavy folk rock has certainly not beam beamed in from the murkiest corners of the 70s, one must surely ask...
Yr 2 Wk 40 Mo's Choice: Valerie June-Pushin'...
Cannot find a proper review…
LL
Yr 2 Wk 40 Ace's Choice: Small Black-Limits Of...
The Skinny:
“Although Limits of Desire is Small Black’s second album proper, it’s also a follow-up to last year’s fantastic Moon Killer mixtape, released online for free. The conceit of Moon Killer was to mix hip-hop beats with shoegaze guitars and dream-pop melodies, lending an extra edge to tracks like Two Rivers. On Limits of Desire, the hip-hop influences of Moon...
Yr 2 Wk 40 Radiculous (Welcome Back)'s Choice...
The Quietus
Inspiration, not innovation, is what I look for in Savages. One Quietus reader insists, every time we write about them, on commenting “post punk karaoke”, ironically himself forgetting that movement’s urge to say something new. Of course, it’s perfectly easy - as it is with so many bands in this age of refinement - to pick apart Savages’ influences...
Yr 2 Wk 40 Lily's Choice: Baths-Obsidian
Sputnikmusic Review:
“Who is Will Wiesenfeld, anyway? If the electronic producer’s debut album told us anything, it was that Baths was a sound geek at heart— from the stuttering glitches to his favorite movies’ audio samples, Cerulean was a collection of memories that paved the way to his musical future. And as naive as it seems now, we all found ourselves believing Wiesenfeld...
Yr 2 Wk 40 Yotal's Choice: Public Service...
<a href=”http://publicservicebroadcasting.bandcamp.com/album/the-war-room” data-mce-href=”http://publicservicebroadcasting.bandcamp.com/album/the-war-room”>The War Room by PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING</a>
Using samples from ancient radio and television broadcast this lot build up some wonderfully dancy tunes around old crackling voices…They remind me...
Yr 2 Wk 39 Yotal's Choice: Valleys-Are You Going...
Best Song (Cannot Embed)
Waiting for the new “National” then grab a bit of this to tide you over. IMO the song in the video is one of the most boring on the album, but tis the single…Check out the song that I linked above but could not embed…
Yotal’s SOTW: Savages-Husbands (ssssoooooo good)
April 2013
28 posts
Yr 2 Wk 39 Painkilla's Choice: Wire-Change Becomes...
PK : “I’ve been listening and enjoying the latest Wire album for the last few weeks and I actually thought it had been picked as ROTW on your blog already before but after checking out, since I didn’t find it I’ve decided it was worth being mentioned! Very nice and consistent Wire album sounding like you’d expect them to sound :-)”
P4K:
...
Yr 2 Wk 40 Mo & Guesto's Choice: Pure X-Crawling...
Blurb
“Crawling Up The Stairs is the second LP from Austin, Texas’ Pure X. Made up of principal members Nate Grace, Jesse Jenkins and Austin Youngblood, they stay true to the dense sound they explored on their last album, Pleasure, but add twinkling atmospherics and a new clarity to their carefully cultivated, emotionally heavy songs.
Where Pleasure was built on syrup-slow...
Yr 2 Wk 39 Mo's Choice: Joasihno-A Lie
<a href=”http://joasihno.bandcamp.com/album/a-lie” data-mce-href=”http://joasihno.bandcamp.com/album/a-lie”>a lie by joasihno</a>
Blurb: “The ongoing love affair between US-Americans and rectangular, grid-like shapes is hardly a secret: There’s Manhattan’s grid system, and pretty much all state lines are straight; even Mid-West farmers...
Yr 2 Wk 39 Daglicht's Choice: Fotonen-Vakantie
<a href=”http://music.samlingrecordings.com/album/sl014-vakantie-fotonen-double-disc” data-mce-href=”http://music.samlingrecordings.com/album/sl014-vakantie-fotonen-double-disc”>SL014: Vakantie - Fotonen (double disc) by Samling-Recordings</a>
Daglicht: “Kind of a weird pick this time. I could choose Colin Stetson, Deerhunter, Shouting Matches or Yeah...
Yr 2 Wk 39 Yotal's Choice: East India Youth-Hostel...
The whole Ep is pretty good, but Heaven, How Long? is the first proper summer tune of the year for me..laid back and awesome. Catch it if you can.
LL
Yr 2 Wk 38 Taylorrrr's Choice: Young...
Chromewaves Review:
“They couldn’t have known it at the time, but when naming their 2011 albumShapeshifting, Montreal’s Young Galaxywere describing not only their sonic shift from well-worn dream-pop to sleek, futuristic disco, but in their fortunes as well. Their first couple records had failed to launch them into an orbit commensurate with their band name butShapeshifting would make...
Yr 2 Wk 38 Yotal's Choice: Bill Ryder-Jones-A Bad...
Former Coral frontman. I think he is so much better as a solo artist, but hey ho that’s just my opinion..After the very nice “If” in 2011 he is back with another batch of acoustic heartbreak songs that are beautifully crafted and a pleasure to listen to.
Well worth a look!
Yotes
Yr 2 Wk 38 Jayetch's Choice: The Boy Least Likely...
<a href=”http://theboyleastlikelyto.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-perhaps” data-mce-href=”http://theboyleastlikelyto.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-perhaps”>the great perhaps by the boy least likely to</a>
MusicOMH Review:
“You might well know of The Boy Least Likely To; but maybe you don’t yet know that you do. Composer Pete Hobbs and wordsmith Jof...
Yr 2 Wk 38 Mo's Choice: Fossil Collective-Tell...
Popmatters: “Rising phoenix-like from the ashes of buzzy Leeds-area art-rock outfit Vib Gyor, Fossil Collective aims for and mostly accomplishes a light tone of ethereal mood-rock. The new project of that former band’s singer Dave Fendick and drummer Jonny Hooker often sparkles with acoustic luster and radio-friendly sheen, even if it also mostly unfolds in predictable ways.
Fossil...
Yr 2 Wk 38 Crystal Rat's Choice: Lady Lamb the...
P4K:
“Aly Spaltro’s stage name and backstory may at first seem awfully whimsical; the name Lady Lamb the Beekeeper came to her in a dream, and she first started playing and practicing in the basement of the video rental store where she worked near her hometown of Portland, Maine. So far, so Fox Searchlight. But forget fey; that basement gave her license to get loud, and the songs...
Yr 2 Wk 38 Ace's Choice: Jai Paul-Jai Paul
“Six years since Jai Paul recorded the demo for “BTSU,” and three years since signing to XL Records, the Rayners Lane-based enigmatic pop mastermind has surprise-uploaded what is presumably his debut LP to Bandcamp, where you can hear it in full and buy it for ₤7. In an interview with NPR last year, XL label owner Richard Russell said, “The way [Jai Paul is] going about things is, I...
Yr 2 Wk 38 Trugoy's Choice: The Uncluded-Hokey...
Blurb:
“The Uncluded’s debut album Hokey Fright was recorded over the course of a year using a variety of locations and devices, from voice memo recorders to fleshed out studios. Aesop and Kimya wrote, performed, and recorded the whole album, with the exception of the drums on “Delicate Cycle”, which were played by James McNew of Yo La Tengo.
Having both experienced some loss in recent...
Yr 2 Wk 38 Ornamental's Choice: Young Man-Beyond...
ConsequenceOfSound:
“Plenty of today’s artists worship the surreal sound texturing of Bradford Cox (Deerhunter, Atlas Sound) and Panda Bear (Animal Collective), but few do it as religiously as Young Man’s Colin Caulfield.
Caulfield began his career performing YouTube covers of those artists’ work and his four-year old project, Young Man, is informed by those same sounds and all their...
Yr 2 Wk 38 Orandeyouglad's Choice:...
Blurb: “Today seemed like a normal day as I woke up, went downstairs to make coffee and checked my email. But as with many mundane moments in life, things sometimes have a way of changing in a hurry. As I opened my semi-monthly email from David Bazan and read through all the living room shows I would never be able to attend because they were sold out instantly, I scrolled down a bit and...
Yr 2 Wk 38 Kirderf's Choice: Electronic-Electronic...
Kird: “A’ight, I’m returning to the fold with the re-release of the Electronic album. The Patience of a Saint is one helluva song.”
LouderThanWar Review:
On it’s original release in 1991 the self titled debut from Electronic was both hugely anticipated and critically lauded. Louder Than War’s Frazer Cooke listens to see if it has stood the test of time.
Rereleases,...
Yr 2 Wk 37 PDX's Choice: Exploding Hearts-Guitar...
PDX: “Ok! So I am currently uploading BOTH Exploding Hearts albums in honor of their debut coming out 10 years ago this week (and 3/4 of them dying 9 years and 8 months ago .) One of the best Pop Punk albums ever put down and one of Portland’s best kept kinda secret… tho not really. I will put it up in the link locker. Please enjoy. Jump up and down a little and maybe spill a...
Yr 2 Wk 37 Guesto's Choice: The Poison Tree-The...
NoRipCord Review:
“Brooklyn-based The Poison Tree’s self-titled debut sounds like the work of of a seasoned artist rather than a first full length release. They have created an album brimming with sumptuous harmonies, heartfelt vocals, and beautiful composition. Where they waiver is in their repetitive and at times, overly sweet lyricism.
Frontman Steve Salett seems to have a penchant...
Yr 2 Wk 37 Painkilla's Choice: Atomtm-HD
Cannot find a review…but let the music speak for itself.
LL
Yr 2 Wk 37 Yotal's Choice: British Sea...
Because they are an awesome underrated band and because this is a return to form in my eyes, but mainly for the wonderfully bizarre cover. Very nice indie album that is best listened to as a whole.
YOTAL’S SOTW: Purling Hiss-Rat Race (So I was referring to the album version but this gives you an idea)
Yr 2 Wk 37 Ornamental's Choice: Filthy Boy-Smile...
Artwednesday Review:
“Listening to Smile That Won’t Go Down is not unlike being taken to a parallel universe in which Franz Ferdinand were anything more than a half-decent band with a few half-decent songs. This fictional universe of unbounded dark, evocative vocals and gritty, raw guitar riffs, is home to Filthy Boy, the latest gang of South-Londoners bringing indie back. The...
Yr 2 Wk 37 Lily's Choice: Kurt Vile-Walkin' On A...
The Fly:
“What’s eating Kurt Vile? His last album, ‘Smoke Ring For My Halo’, was adored for how Vile nailed his signature sound – the coolly apathetic angst of grunge with the timeless authenticity of classic Americana. Yet on the ambitious, immersive ‘Wakin On A Pretty Daze’, you get the sense that there’s still something nagging at Vile, and it’ll take more than a casual spin of this...
Yr 2 Wk 37 Mo's Choice: The Mary Onettes-Hit The...
Consequence Of Sound Review: “Since emerging in 2007 with a buoyant (if monotonous) debut, The Mary Onettes have grown adept at recasting New Wave through a Swedish pop prism. Drawing from among the more exposed acts of the ’80s, frontman Philip Ekström and his bandmates have produced a catalog of pleasant, tame revivalism. On their third album, Hit the Waves, The Mary Onettes wear...
Yr 2 Wk 37 Daglicht and Ace's Choice: Junip-Junip
No reviews yet, but then do we really need any :)
Yr 2 Wk 36 Lily's Choice: Caveman-Caveman
Blurb:
“Brooklyn rockers Caveman have themselves a new home: According to an issued press release, the band recently signed to Fat Possum, joining a roster that already includes The Walkmen, Youth Lagoon, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. To kick off their relationship, the label will re-release Caveman’s debut LP, Coco Beware, on March 27th. The album was first released back in November...
Yr 2 Wk 36 PDX's Choice: The Pynnacles–The...
PortlandMonthlyMag Review:
“Honest, we need more bands like the Pynnacles, for the simple reason that they never, ever forget to kick a song as hard as it can be kicked. Screw the introspection, let’s twist and shout our blues away!
Comprised of seasoned local veterans Sean Croghan (Crackerbash, Junior High), keyboardist Tamar Berk (Paradise), guitarists Scott Fox, Dave Busaker...
Yr 2 Wk 36 Ornamental's Choice: House Of Love-She...
Guardian Blurb:
“Even on their debut album, now 25 years old, the House of Love were steeped in nostalgia. Since reuniting a decade ago, frontmen Terry Bickers and Guy Chadwick have spent most of their time looking back; the songs on She Paints Words in Red are their first new work in eight years. The older they get, the softer the band sound: there is a dark streak of anguish in...
Yr 2 Wk 36 Mo's Choice: Few Bits-Few Bits
Review in flemish for those that can
One of CeeJee’s Exclusives :)
Mo’s SOTW: Toy-My Heart Skips A Beat
Yr 2 Wk 36 Jayetch's Choice: Little Green...
lyriquediscorde Review:
“There is a kind of bliss in stumbling on new music by happenstance, a happy accident, one might say, or a musical “meet cute”. I had one of those today when I caught a glimpse of this album cover above and clicked on it to give it a spin. This album is lyrically cathartic and musically mercurial. As I listen I find myself being yanked and pulled in different...
March 2013
23 posts
Yr 2 Wk 35 Yotal's Choice: Conquering Animal...
I have loved these guys since the early days…I saw them in Belgium for some silly price like £5 and was suitably impressed. Due to them I became a Gizeh Records devotee and have bought everything they put out since…but I digress…so this lot have now moved on to Chemikal Underground. This is a more polished second effort that brings to mind a more likable Scottish version of...
Yr 2 Wk 35 Nogue's Choice: Charles Bradley-Victim...
Nogue: As much to be clear, the new Charles Bradley due to the next 2sd april is a musical slaughter. If you did like a lot the last record of ‘Lee Field’ (Faithful Man) you’ll find for sure, another soul companion with this “Victim of love” Record…”
Funkalicious review:
“Charles Bradley’s follow-up to his 2010 debut “No Time For Dreaming” would...
Yr 2 Wk 35 Painkilla's Choice: Depeche Mode-Delta...
The LineOfBestFit:
“It’s always a pretty spectacular event when reunited legends release new material. The allure of such titans of music is so grand, it becomes difficult to escape the bubble of hype that surrounds whatever they’re going to release.
This year, we’ve definitely had our share of comebacks, all of which have actually fared pretty well – it’s easy to have high expectations...
Yr 2 Wk 35 Mo's Choice: Duologue-Song & Dance
The 405 Review
Duologue must have some serious pulling power, because the opening track on their debut album features vocals by Thom Yorke. Or at the very least, Thom Yorke’s doppelgänger. In fact, it’s frontman Tim Digby-Bell who drives ‘Machine Stop’ with his uncannily similar vocal. On the whole, that particular song sounds like a lost Radiohead b-side, but...
Yr 2 Wk 35 Kawa4's Choice: Letherette-Letherette
Cannot find a review
LL
Yr 2 Wk 35 Ornamental's Choice: Suede-Bloodsports
My god tis good to have these guys back…I love them to bits (Orna you beat me to it but I almost used my admin power to take it myself)
The Quietus:
“I’ve always thought that the strangest thing I’ve ever heard is ‘we’re making music for ourselves and if anyone else likes it it’s a bonus’. Why did you fucking release it then?” said Suede...
Yr 2 Wk 35 Ace's Choice: Justin Timberlake-The...
Ok so this is not in the usual place, but if you can’t find it, you don’t deserve to be here! Also it really truly pains me to post this Ace…if there is any one I detest more than JT, I have yet to find it!
P4K: “Consider ‘N Sync’s 2001 hit “Pop”, a defensive track co-written by Justin Timberlake that takes aim at boy-band haters. “All...
Yr 2 Wk 34 Yotal's Choice: Marika Hackman-That...
So this lovely lady was the support act to Ethan Johns, she totally blew him out of the water really one to watch!
And if you don’t believe me check out the free covers EP on her website here.
Please Please check her out!
LL
Yotal’s SOTW: John Grant-Pale Green Ghosts
Yr 2 Wk 34 Nogue's Choice: Greater Alexander –...
&lt;a href=”http://greateralexander.bandcamp.com/album/positive-love” data-mce-href=”http://greateralexander.bandcamp.com/album/positive-love”&gt;Positive Love by Greater Alexander&lt;/a&gt;
Nogue: “This record was released in early december 2012 but I hadn’t time to acquire it yet : more than 3’000 records...
Yr 2 Wk 34 Ace's Choice: Devendra Banhart-Mala
BBC Review:
“It is more than a decade since Devendra Banhart released his debut album, the intriguing The Charles C. Leary, and in that time the world that found itself so startled and so beguiled by his New Weird Freak Folk (or however they cared to classify it) has changed considerably.
His style has been much imitated, while his position as modern folk music’s pan-like ashram demi-god...
Yr 2 Wk 34 Kmafitz's Choice: Woodkid-Golden Age
Guardian Review:
“Woodkid’s Yoann Lemoine has made his mark producing videos for the likes of Lana del Rey and Rihanna, and earned a Grammy nomination for his own Where the Wild Things Are-style single and video, Run Boy Run. That song’s narrative – sword-brandishing schoolboy-hero racing wildly towards his destiny – unfolds in full on this filmic debut. It is the crisis of...
Yr 2 Wk 34 Painkilla's Choice: Hookworms-Pearl...
Painkilla: “ery nice psychedelic druggy space rock (if that means anything :-) ) with catchy basslines and vocals. I would have gone for the new Bowie but of course it’s been chosen already. Hope you’re well. Cheers. (“Love this” -Yotal)
The Queitus: “Anyone who has seen Hookworms live knows that they are an enervating, entrancing, life-enhancing...
