Airliner – None LP 7.8

                 Airliner is described as “Slow Motion Funk”. Think of Boards of Canada and imagine if they decided to dabble in funk. Yes, it is that good. While Seth Haley (better known as Com Truise) has been working with these kinds of sounds for a while, this may be the best stuff I’ve heard from him yet.

                The melodies get struck in your head. Each song sounds pristine, crystal clear. Bass-wise, it is a real treat, as he focuses mostly on the deeper sounds. So when you listen, the beats hit hard. If you have headphones, I’d strongly recommend them for this album which breezes by in its 30 minutes.

                “Everyday” sounds fantastic and is probably one of my favorites. As I listen to it, I’m kind of amazed at how perfect the sounds are. It makes me wish for more a clear blue sky to look up at as it plays. This is clearly meant for warm weather and the song positively radiates warmth. My other favorite would be the longest track on here “Illuminism”. Actually, when I hear this, I’m a bit surprised at how few electronic artists are able to capture funk properly. Usually I hear something a bit overdrawn like Dam-Funk’s work. 

                Where Airliner succeeds is with the execution and editing of these songs. Melodies are memorable, the beats are great, everything’s clear, and the bass is smooth. This may be the best thing I’ve heard from Seth Haley yet, which is saying something considering all the good work he’s done. Please give this a listen on his bandcamp.

Tycho – Sunrise Projector 3.0

Tycho makes nostalgic tunes using analog equipment and Boards of Canada albums. Honestly, I wish I could say this was dramatically different from Boards of Canada’s material, but it isn’t. Instead of trying to create a new identity, Tycho instead felt like latching off of this giant group of musicians who dealt with type of music. Sure, other musicians got accused of Boards of Canada impersonations (like Casino Versus Japan) but those others could claim to unique aspects in their personality.

Not so with Tycho.  Each song sounds like another artists’ idea, re-appropriated for his use. I tried to look for a highlight or hook to prove to me that this wasn’t true, that I was just hearing things. Upon multiple listens, I learned this was the equivalent of IDM wallpaper. Lacking any soul of its own, it failed to leave any lasting impression on me besides the fact that it sounded “tasteful”.

Music like this worries me. Bands are allowed to be influenced by others, but I didn’t see any value in what Tycho did. There’s nothing new added here, I really can’t think of staler music than this. All I can say is that the production values are crystal clear.Listening to this is like eating confectioner sugar: it is sweet but proves no nourishment whatsoever.

VHS Head – Trademark Ribbons of Gold 8.3

You might remember VHS Head made a brief appearance in 2009’s very busy release schedule. His EP “Video Club” was sort of mysterious, conjuring up images of derelict technology. With “Trademark Ribbons of Gold” he continues in the same fashion.

Skam did a fairly decent job picking this guy out, though I don’t believe the rumors that state a member of Boards of Canada was involved. Much more realistically, it sounds like a project Jackson and his Computer Band might have created. The beats and editing are very similar, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t behind this.But if he is, he's definitely improved since the last time I heard him.

Anyway, whoever created it did a good job. There are some fairly excellent tracks on here, like “Remote Control” which sort of continues into infinity. Melodies upon melodies cross and intersect to form some truly great moments.  Skam really outdid them this time; I haven’t been this excited about anything from them since Gescom’s last release. 

There are some things to get over with this album. For one, there are 20 tracks that go on for over an hour. Plus, the amount of ideas being juggled around might worry a casual listener. Really, you can start anywhere, but I’d probably say the aforementioned track is a good place to start, along with “Red Lens Effect” and the weird song “Franco Zoom to Nowhere” which is as bizarre as it sounds.

So ease in slowly with it, it is actually worth it. Plus, it is doubly nice for Skam to remind me of why I used to like it so much.Oh yeah, this a big grower.